First egg

[TropicalBabies]

No rooster. They are in a store bought pen and coop. For the last week, we have left the door open to the coop at night as my wife and I work and are gone before sun up. Do you think closing the coop at night once they have gone to bed in the evening (on weekends) will be enough to teach her to lay in the nesting box?

Yes, till about noonish may be enough for her to have to lay in the box. I think my girls got it in two days. I hated locking them in myself. Felt like a mean mom, but it is just to help direct them. Another thing i have done but is more time consuming, is watching them. When they start their egg song and if not in the right spot, I would put my girl in. That took a few tries but she is using the box now and she is a bit of a wild one.
Q. How many hens do you have and how big is your store bought coop and run? Any free ranging? I always love photos if you can.

 

[rosemarythyme]

. Another thing i have done but is more time consuming, is watching them. When they start their egg song and if not in the right spot, I would put my girl in.

Had to do this with a couple of my pullets - they were so used to ignoring the nest boxes that they weren't exploring them or considering them for use. So when I noticed them showing signs that they wanted to lay (nervously pacing inside the coop, exploring the corners) I picked them up, put them in a box, and used my hands to block them in for 30 sec - 1 min, until they started looking around inside the box instead of trying to escape. Sure enough, the boxes looked appealing to them once they got a good look at them.

 

[Celticdragonfly]

Woot! Congratulations! How old is she?

 

[troy2469]

Yes, till about noonish may be enough for her to have to lay in the box. I think my girls got it in two days. I hated locking them in myself. Felt like a mean mom, but it is just to help direct them. Another thing i have done but is more time consuming, is watching them. When they start their egg song and if not in the right spot, I would put my girl in. That took a few tries but she is using the box now and she is a bit of a wild one.
Q. How many hens do you have and how big is your store bought coop and run? Any free ranging? I always love photos if you can.

The girl laid another egg today, this time in the nesting box... Woohoo

 

[troy2469]

Woot! Congratulations! How old is she?

Probably 22 weeks

 

[troy2469]

Had to do this with a couple of my pullets - they were so used to ignoring the nest boxes that they weren't exploring them or considering them for use. So when I noticed them showing signs that they wanted to lay (nervously pacing inside the coop, exploring the corners) I picked them up, put them in a box, and used my hands to block them in for 30 sec - 1 min, until they started looking around inside the box instead of trying to escape. Sure enough, the boxes looked appealing to them once they got a good look at them.

I saw her looking around there yesterday and was hoping she would use it

 

[troy2469]

Hello, and a warm welcome to Backyard Chickens! It's great to have you here with us! Congrats on your first egg! That's the most exciting part about chickening!
(In my opinion)

Thank you and I got another today

 

[troy2469]

Hello and welcome to BYC! Glad you joined.
Yes, it does sometimes take time to lay in the nest boxes. New layers get surprised by the egg and you will find them in strange places until they get the hang of things. Congratulations on your first egg!

Thanks. Today she laid in the nesting box. Woohoo

 

[JennMahoney]

No rooster. They are in a store bought pen and coop. For the last week, we have left the door open to the coop at night as my wife and I work and are gone before sun up. Do you think closing the coop at night once they have gone to bed in the evening (on weekends) will be enough to teach her to lay in the nesting box?

We close our coop every night and open it back up in the morning , they lay in the box every time. Good luck and congrats on your first egg.

 

[troy2469]

We close our coop every night and open it back up in the morning , they lay in the box every time. Good luck and congrats on your first egg.

Thanks. It is easy to close up at night, problem is I am at work before dawn in the morning. However, today she laid in the nesting box...