do i need to put something in the nest?

[noodleman]

We got our first egg today. Wasn't expexting it until next month. Guess I'm building nesting boxes tonight. Do I need to put something in the bottom of them? Like straw? I'm thinking about using two milk crates turned on their side.

 

[TXmom]

Some people use straw, I just use pine shavings in mine.

I also put 2 golf balls in each nest. I know it helps, because all my girls have been laying their eggs in the nestboxes. Then my Silkie started laying and she laid her's on the floor...and my Buff Orp went over there and sat on her egg and laid her egg there too! Crazy girl, she knows eggs go in the nestbox!!! So now I'm trying to get my Silkie in the nestbox (good luck with that) and get my silly BO back up to the nestboxes...

 

[CallyB57]

I used a lot of pine shavings, then added a golfball. I had 3 nest boxes in a row, so I put my hen Florentine in the nest with the golfball to show her where she should lay her eggs. She pecked the golfball a number of times and a couple of days later she laid an egg in the nest box on the far and opposite end of the nest box with the golf ball. Also, she scratched a big bowl shape in the shavings and laid the egg on bare plywood. Was the smallest, but most beautiful egg I ever saw, and had a triple yolk!!! No more triple yolks, became double, now single, but still small and very beautiful.