Egg in ccop

[missmychicks]

My hen just started laying this week (yay!), but lays on the floor of the coop in stead of the pristine nesting boxes about a foot away. I have nesting pads topped with shavings and ceramic eggs in the nesting boxes . Will she get it together and start using the boxes? Anything I can do?

 

[Tonyroo]

Just have patience, usually young layers look for guidance with older flock members. But since you don't have any they will need to use there instinct to guide them.

 

[rosemarythyme]

She should figure it out over time. But some things to look for: have you seen any evidence of the nests being disturbed or played in? Depending on the sort of nest and where they're placed (i.e. up high, with curtains over it) she might not be aware that they're there, so you should look for evidence that the birds are exploring the nests.

 

[missmychicks]

She should figure it out over time. But some things to look for: have you seen any evidence of the nests being disturbed or played in? Depending on the sort of nest and where they're placed (i.e. up high, with curtains over it) she might not be aware that they're there, so you should look for evidence that the birds are exploring the nests.

It's a straight shot- she was probably staring at the nesting boxes as she was laying!

 

[rosemarythyme]

My nests are on ground level and I have older hens to watch and learn from, but I still had to train my second batch of birds to use them.

 

[jBabychickn]

My hen just started laying this week (yay!), but lays on the floor of the coop in stead of the pristine nesting boxes about a foot away. I have nesting pads topped with shavings and ceramic eggs in the nesting boxes . Will she get it together and start using the boxes? Anything I can do?

Have you tried removing the fake eggs??

I know, this sounds so silly & nonproductive, but it totally worked for my crazy birds!!
Ha!

When I first started, I had (8) Salmon Faverolles with no Senior Hens to show them either. I’d find Eggs under the boxes, next to the boxes, on the coop floor, in the bedding, out in the Run, in the dust bath area… Ya know just what I mean!

One day I was out in the Coop, all out of ideas, and very worried about this becoming a habit, as more & more of my (8) Pullets were coming into their 1st lay. And, of course, they were naturally copying what their Sisters were doing, which was laying everywhere but in the boxes…

— Sooo, I Removed all the Fake Eggs! Eggs that were there to teach them where to lay down their own eggs, now All Gone! Couldn’t hurt anything, I thought.
— That next morning, TWO beautifully, clean and gorgeous Eggs where laying right there in Nesting box number two… I just about fainted from excitement!!! LOL!

— From that Day on…They all started using the Nesting boxes. It wasn’t perfect of course, it took about 2 weeks for everyone to get onboard.
— And, Nesting box number Two is always the Best Box, apparently!!

You gotta wonder…
——————————
What were they thinking? —
Did they think those boxes were Full already?
Did they think those boxes belonged to some other strange Chicken?

 

[Penpal]

I think more than one fake egg confuses them. They don't want to invade another hen's territory. They will later lay eggs in a full nest once it is theirs.