first eggs! but a problem... help!

[chickensss]

today I found out that our buffington orpington layed an egg! well... eggs. (we have a rooster btw) we knew our girl was ready to lay because of the constant singing of the egg song and her wondering around everywhere finding the perfect spot to lay. but we hadn't know she had started yet! I sat and watched her to see where she was off to and off she went under a bush kinda of thing. (I'm not exactly sure what it is haha) anyways, I go over to her and there she is, sitting right next to an egg! but she was lying on it..(half of the egg was under her, the other half was facing out) I lifted her up and under her were THREE more eggs!!! so 4 eggs in total! good thing I caught her b4 she started incubating them! anyways, my issue here is that she's the only one laying, that I know of, and I'm worried that the other r going to lay there eggs elsewhere and I won't find them and then in a few weeks or so we will have baby chicks!(which we do not want at the moment!) my chickens do still sleep in the nesting box except for the one already laying. so how do I get my hens to lay in the nesting boxes and not under some bush or something!


**we've had golf balls in the nesting boxes for about a week now**


1 of 4 of our first eggs:

 

[smarsh2]

do you not an inclosed pin for them? most hens lay there eggs in the morning hours, and I always keep mine up in the morning so they have to lay where I can find them. If they are free run all the time, then this is going to be a problem. To make your nest boxes more inviting, make the openings as small as a hen can get in and dark as possible. And the nest boxes being off out of the main traffic helps too. The more realistic the nest egg the better also.

 

[DianaMallory]

Pin them up at night and this won't be a problem. Don't let the out until you get eggs in the nesting boxes.

 

[Happy Chooks]

Lock them up until she starts laying in the nesting boxes. Chickens will gravitate to lay where others have laid. That is why fake eggs and golf balls encourage them to lay in the boxes - they think someone else has been there.

 

[chickensss]

they r free run, but we lock them up at night. we've also left them in most of the morning, even till n