egg laying question

[hejlherd]

I have 8 hens that have been laying for about 2 months. Some lay in nesting boxes and a couple lay under a brick structure that hold their water source. The last 2 days there have been 2 eggs out in the middle of the coop in the dirt...why?

 

[JadedPhoenix]

Maybe they couldn't wait for the nest to be empty? I'm picturing a hen with her legs crossed banging on the coop door shouting to her sister to hurry up.

I have 17 hens and from time to time, despite being about a year old, I still get a random egg in the dirt. It just happens sometimes.

 

[TalkALittle]

Is someone hogging the favorite nest box all to herself? The previous poster jokes, but I have a hen that will sit on the nest looooong after she's laid. Once you remove her egg, she'll get up and leave but I've gone in and seen two other hens pacing and clucking just waiting for her to get off the nest so they can use it. And I've found a random egg in the middle of the floor a couple of times too. I think they just couldn't hold it in anymore and laid it where they stood. It doesn't seem to matter that there are 3 other nests right next to that one. They all want the favorite one. I've even seen one girl climb up on top of the other while she's sitting in the nest.

 

[JadedPhoenix]

I've actually had 5 hens standing in a perfect line outside the coop while waiting for the favorite spot. One of the funniest things to watch. I feel like leaving miniature magazines taped on the walls for them to read while they do their business.

 

[aart]

How many nests do you have?
Might try putting some fake eggs in a couple of them.

 

[JadedPhoenix]

Sometimes, an over-abundance of nests means nothing to the hens. I have half as many nests as my hens and usually, wherever the first egg is laid for the day, that is where ALL of the eggs will laid. LOL!! It is so fun discovering which nest was the preferred one for the day.

 

[aart]

Sometimes, an over-abundance of nests means nothing to the hens. I have half as many nests as my hens and usually, wherever the first egg is laid for the day, that is where ALL of the eggs will laid. LOL!! It is so fun discovering which nest was the preferred one for the day.

That's why the fake eggs help....spreads the love, and reduces the stress and squabbling.

 

[JadedPhoenix]

Somehow, my girls know what eggs are reall. They always push the fake ones out! LOL!!!

 

[ChickenLegs13]

My hens that lay the big eggs hang around inside the hen house spreading gossip for several hours, then jump in the nest for another hour or 2 to do their business & recuperate. Takes about 3 hours to lay an egg.
The hens that lay the small eggs go in the henhouse, jump in a nest, lay an egg and jump out. They do it quickly, takes about 5 minutes. So they might lay them in the middle of the pen, in the middle of the pasture, on the picnic table, or under a car, wherever they happen to be when they go into labor.