Dropping eggs from roost

[heatherma]

I've been lurking for awhile and now we have our 1st flock beginning to lay. They are all 6 months and 2 weeks. My first BO laid 5 eggs in 7 days, no problems but laid out in their run. The 2nd to mature has begun to lay (different size and color of egg) and have found both eggs dropped from roost around 8am (I open their door first thing but it takes them awhile to fly down and go out). I have straw and golfballs in lovely built in 2 tiers of nestboxes 24" off floor of coop that none are using. Considering putting a box on the floor or possibly in the run and move it slowly closer to nest boxes so they start to get the idea. Would this work? I even put the 1st to mature into the nest box with the golf balls and she looked at them and me with interest and then flew down. Anyone have further ideas, experiences? I know there is no one to teach them but I did think they would not be quite so careless about their eggs - definitely not broody.
Thanks!

 

[Solsken Farm]

Welcome officially to byc!

New layers don't always seem to know they are laying. One thing you could do is hold off letting them out until they lay inside. They will seek the nest boxes out as they get more experienced. I think they have no clue what is happening in the beginning and that is why they just drop them anywhere.

Congrats on getting eggs! It's such a long wait, but so worth it when it happens.

 

[heatherma]

Thank you for your response! The main layer so far seems to lay in the afternoon so I couldn't keep them all in all day. The other one (whom I suspect has begun laying on the roost) does so in the early morning. I made a nest with straw in a corner and put 3 golf balls in it. It looks cozy to me anyway! We are having so much fun with our chickens. I don't know if I'll ever get tired of finding eggs. My secondary flock is 4 weeks old inside (2 Delawares, 2 Australorps, 2 barred plymouth rocks) so I'll be on the hunt to find a good way to introduce them eventually.