Egg hunt

[Laurenj915]

Our 13 chickens are 5 months old and free ranging during the day. We found our first egg in my son's toy truck today. I have no doubt they are laying in other areas of the property. I was thinking of confining them to the coop and run for a few days to teach them to use the nesting boxes. Will that work or should I be doing something different? Thank you!

 

[Lawhead Farm]

Sometimes a new layer is "surprised" as to what is happening and they will lay where they stand. You can use ceramic fake eggs in your boxes to encourage them to lay there. Most figure it out, I do have a rogue Americauna that lays under a tree every day though

 

[Peeps61]

Our 13 chickens are 5 months old and free ranging during the day. We found our first egg in my son's toy truck today. I have no doubt they are laying in other areas of the property. I was thinking of confining them to the coop and run for a few days to teach them to use the nesting boxes. Will that work or should I be doing something different? Thank you!

I locked mine in for two weeks and that pretty much gave them the idea. I'm getting 18 eggs a day out of 31 hens/pullets that are laying. It's nice not to have to hunt all those eggs!

 

[aart]

Our 13 chickens are 5 months old and free ranging during the day. We found our first egg in my son's toy truck today. I have no doubt they are laying in other areas of the property. I was thinking of confining them to the coop and run for a few days to teach them to use the nesting boxes. Will that work or should I be doing something different? Thank you!

Absolutely!
They may not like it, but will get over it as long as you have ample room in the coop so they aren't too crowded.

Free range birds sometimes need to be 'trained'(or re-trained) to lay in the coop nests, especially new layers. Leaving them locked in the coop for 2-3 days can help 'home' them to lay in the coop nests. They can be confined to coop 24/7 for a few days to a week, or confine them at least until mid to late afternoon. You help them create a new habit and they will usually stick with it. ..at least for a good while, then repeat as necessary.