Fake Eggs in Nesting Boxes-- Good Idea, Nah, or Meh?

[Growley Monster]

Makes sense to me, that a hen would be more likely to lay where laying is apparently already occurring. But a neighbor says nope, the hen will avoid laying in that box because another hen is using it. I have seen plenty of hens doubling up on the same nesting box so kind of had to call BS on that. But should I, or not? I bought some ceramic ones at TSC the other day and put them out in 4 of my 6 boxes last night. This morning I got one egg from one of the boxes with no ceramic egg. Another egg out in the run, on the ground. I have a half dozen wooden eggs coming, too, BTW.

Does color make a difference? The ones I got at TSC are light blue and green. Hens are Brown Leghorns laying white eggs a bit smaller than the fakes cause they just started laying.

 

[CherishedFowlGuardian]

Well my chicken has a favorite fake egg and if the egg isn’t there she won’t lay.

 

[CherishedFowlGuardian]

I think generally is better to get the colors that your chickens lay mine are usually brown cause I have more brown layers, but I do have a couple green eggs for the green lane chickens.

 

[BoundlessLove]

No, color does not matter in my opinion. I’ve used colored golf balls. Hot pink, blue, white, red

 

[HolyHenHouse]

my hens automatically learned to lay in the nesting boxes but they all have the same favorite and I will sometimes find two in there at a time!

 

[kattabelly]

Some chickens are followers and can easily be persuaded to lay somewhere different by the presence of real eggs or fake eggs or any vaguely egg-shaped object.

Some can tell the difference between real and (at least some) fake eggs and might either ignore the fakes or be outraged by their presence and refuse to go near them / kick them out of the nests and far away.

Some chickens pick a particular spot they like to lay and absolutely nothing will convince them to change their mind.

Some chickens decide where to lay every day based on a complicated set of criteria that may or may not include the presence and placement of other eggs, but almost certainly involves either astrology or consulting the I Ching. Possibly haruspicy, if there's a mouse around.



All you can really do is experiment to see which categories of chickens you have.

 

[FrostRanger]

I always keep fake eggs in my nest box. They aren't really needed once they know where to lay but they don't hurt anything. I would actually advise getting a color that your birds (or at least most of them) don't lay so you don't grab the fakes by mistake when collecting eggs

 

[kattabelly]

Right now I have three chickens insisting on laying in the nest occupied by an extremely angry broody, not the previously-favoured nest next door which often contains an egg from the one sensible chicken who'll lay there

 

[5Australorpasaures]

Worked when we had RIRs and BAR RKs, a complete fail with the BLK AUS. They like the back corner on the floor.

 

[BigBlueHen53]

I always have golf balls in all of my nests and the hens lay in one or another of them depending on which nest is the chosen one for that day. I use the bright yellow balls so I don't gather them by mìstake. Texture helps, too. The hens don't seem to care, one way or the other. They don't complain anyway.