First egg laid in wrong spot...

[ChandaH]

OK, I am a super newbie here! I bought the whole coop with 10 week old chickens so I didn't build any of this myself but here is what I got...

The coop is abut 3' x 3'. On one side of the coop there are two shelves (about 3 feet long), one above the other. The top shelf I put a roost above the shelf and they are roosting there quite well. There is sand on the shelf to catch the poops and I use a kitty litter scoop and it is working great. There is also another shelf at the same height on the opposite side with an identical roost. There is plenty of room for all 6 chickens to roost.

The lower shelf on the one side I kept blocked off until this last week when the chickens turned 18 weeks. It is about 1 foot off the ground.

The floor of the coop is all sand.

So this week on this second lower shelf I placed two old wine case boxes with a huge hole in the front and filled the boxes with shredded paper. The size of the wine case boxes fit in the shelf quite well. They are about 7 inches deep and about 12 inches across and about 12 inched tall. So, both the shelf and the boxes are only 7 inches deep which I know is a little tight.

So, one of my girls decided to lay her first egg she went into one of the case boxes scratched all the shredded paper out. Then jumped up to the top roosting shelf and behind the roost scratched all the sand away and dropped an egg which was covered in poop and sand. (I cleaned it up and admired it but didn't eat it).

I tried to fix everything back to normal and hoped that she would chose the boxes next time. I even put a golf ball in each box.

A couple days later she laid another egg on the roosting shelf behind the roost and didn't bother with the box at all.

So, my question is- Are my boxes too small? Should I just get rid of the boxes and leave the shelf open all the way across and just fill it with the shredded paper and give her more room? Should I make a simple divider and just divide the shelf in half instead of leaving it open all the way across?

What can I do to encourage her to lay on the lower shelf and not on the top roosting shelf??? (I did put a couple branches behind each roost to make it more uncomfortable for her to jump down back there)

Thanks so much,
Chanda & the girls

 

[GermanChick]

I don't know how to fix it. I think some chickens just have their one mind
One of my Australorps (just started to lay) insists on laying on the poop board. Makes a lot of fuss to try to scratch out a nest (good luck with that) and then lays it right there.
It takes here for ever and she is bawking around for at least an hour. She just doesn't get it..... so far. I hope she will at some point get it that there are nice comfy nesting boxes available, where all the others lay there eggs. Maybe it is just beginner confusion

 

[Happy Chooks]

I'd say she doesn't like the newspaper. Try shavings or hay?

 

[ChandaH]

I am pretty sure it was one of my Barred Rocks that laid those first two eggs in the wrong spot.

I just had my Buff Orpinton lay one in the box! One of my worker guys was unloading sheep hay and heard the whole thing so I ran right out there...

I am pleased that at least one laid in the box but I am still questioning my box size. I think the normal size is 12 x 12 right? So maybe my 7 x 12 is too small?

My Black Australorp is so huge I wonder if she will fit in there at all?

I had been using the shredded paper for the entire coop for a while until I decided to switch to sand. So they are at least 'used' to the shredded paper...

Chanda & the girls

 

[GermanChick]

7x12 sounds a little bit tight. Specially for those bigger breeds. I would make them bigger boxes......

 

[ChandaH]

OK, I think I will do that. I can actually just take a piece of cardboard and just divide the shelf in half and leave it at that.

The shelf is just over a foot in height. It is 3 feet long and about 7 inches deep with a lip on the front. If I just divide the whole shelf in half I think that would give them plenty of space....

Chanda & the girls

 

[Happy Chooks]

Yeah, 7 inches deep is too shallow. (missed that part the first time around) Mine are 12X12 and also 12 inches deep, and my Barred Rock barely fits in it.

 

[ChandaH]

OK, I went crazy with cardboard and a staple gun!

I separated the shelf into two sections. Each 'box' is about 18 inches wide and about 11 inches deep and about 18 inches tall.

I just used cardboard to divide the shelf in half and then added a little bit more cardboard as an 'overhang' to make it a little more dark in there and more 'box-like'. Added a bit more shredded paper, kept the golf balls in there and hopefully they will all use those instead of the roosting area/poop board.

Thanks for everyones input. You guys are just a WEALTH of information and a HUGE help!

Does anyone know if the scratching around and flinging all the bedding out is a 'beginner' thing or do they keep doing that their whole lives?

Chanda & the girls

 

[carrlr]

Mine seem to prefer scratching all of the bedding out before laying their eggs too. All but one are beginners (about 6 months old). I've heard others use a piece of carpet to avoid having the eggs hit the wood too hard and causing cracks in the eggs. I have 12 hens and 4 next boxes each 12x12x12 but connected together. They seem to prefer using the same box though.