First eggs not in nesting box

[Sanuk19]

Hello!! We had our first egg on Monday! It was so glorious and exciting! It was layed perfectly in one of our nesting boxes. Beautifully done, little Diva girl! But then Wednesday she layed her second egg and I found it on the poop tray busted open. So sad. Then today I found another, on the poop tray again. Luckily I found it before it got pecked or broken. So my question is, how do I get her to keep laying in the nesting boxes like she did the first time? We have a couple golf balls in a couple of the boxes. I have curtains up. She seemed to like it the first time. I’ve seen her scratching around and sitting in the boxes all week, along with one of our others that seems to be really close to her first lay... Thanks!

 

[TwentyOneChickens]

Hello!! We had our first egg on Monday! It was so glorious and exciting! It was layed perfectly in one of our nesting boxes. Beautifully done, little Diva girl! But then Wednesday she layed her second egg and I found it on the poop tray busted open. So sad. Then today I found another, on the poop tray again. Luckily I found it before it got pecked or broken. So my question is, how do I get her to keep laying in the nesting boxes like she did the first time? We have a couple golf balls in a couple of the boxes. I have curtains up. She seemed to like it the first time. I’ve seen her scratching around and sitting in the boxes all week, along with one of our others that seems to be really close to her first lay... Thanks!

Chickens don't normally lay their first eggs in the nesting boxes. It's simple to get them laying in there, what we did was bought fake eggs and put one in each nesting box. That got them laying in there pretty quickly.

 

[Ridgerunner]

Are you sure it is the same pullet?

The egg laying process is pretty complicated. There are hardware and software issues that need to be right and sometimes it takes a while for a pullet to work out the bugs.

It's pretty normal for a pullet to start looking for a good place to make a nest a week before she starts to lay. It sounds like yours did that. They don't always choose our nests but they often do. Since she laid her first egg in there it looks like you did your part right.

But for that to work they have to control when to lay. Do you know when those eggs were laid? It sounds like they may have been laid at night while on the roost? That may be her software issue, controlling when.

Most pullets work these bugs out petty quickly, usually within days but pretty much by two weeks. I have had some that took longer and one that never did. One pullet continued to lay from the roost for well over a month. There was just something wrong with her instincts or internal wiring. But that was one pullet out of I don't know how many over the years. To me it's kind of surprising how many get it right from the start. Most do.

Some pullets seem to drop an egg wherever they happen to be, on the roosts or just walking around. But eventually they gain control of the process. That's when they start to lay in the same spot every day. When you consistently see eggs in the same spot every time that's where she decided to make her nest. I don't think you are at that point yet.

That may be in one of your nests it may be somewhere else. When you get to that point come back and let us know. If it is in your nests, great. If not we can discuss how to move her there.

 

[aart]

There are hardware and software issues that need to be right

Chickens are not computers.
JK

 

[Ridgerunner]

Chickens are not computers.
JK

@aart that's intended to be an analogy. I certainly agree that chickens cannot be programmed but sometimes when devices upgrade they seem to have a mind of their own too. I had two experiences with that yesterday but I'll stop that rant.

In this day and age I thought people may get a feel for it if I mentioned it that way. I'm always looking for ways to help people understand the why. In this case why a pullet may not always lay a perfect egg or perfectly follow the expected process.

 

[Sanuk19]

Are you sure it is the same pullet?

The egg laying process is pretty complicated. There are hardware and software issues that need to be right and sometimes it takes a while for a pullet to work out the bugs.

It's pretty normal for a pullet to start looking for a good place to make a nest a week before she starts to lay. It sounds like yours did that. They don't always choose our nests but they often do. Since she laid her first egg in there it looks like you did your part right.

But for that to work they have to control when to lay. Do you know when those eggs were laid? It sounds like they may have been laid at night while on the roost? That may be her software issue, controlling when.

Most pullets work these bugs out petty quickly, usually within days but pretty much by two weeks. I have had some that took longer and one that never did. One pullet continued to lay from the roost for well over a month. There was just something wrong with her instincts or internal wiring. But that was one pullet out of I don't know how many over the years. To me it's kind of surprising how many get it right from the start. Most do.

Some pullets seem to drop an egg wherever they happen to be, on the roosts or just walking around. But eventually they gain control of the process. That's when they start to lay in the same spot every day. When you consistently see eggs in the same spot every time that's where she decided to make her nest. I don't think you are at that point yet.

That may be in one of your nests it may be somewhere else. When you get to that point come back and let us know. If it is in your nests, great. If not we can discuss how to move her there.

 

[Sanuk19]

I actually appreciate the analogy Your response was very helpful! Thanks!

 

[aart]

@aart that's intended to be an analogy.

Yeah, I got the analogy...just struck me as funny, immediately visualizing a robotic chicken.