Not me, I was born knowing everything possible about raising chickens!
OK, maybe not. Maybe I learned a lot from people on BYC.
One of my 2012's raised the 2015's from a few days old. She slowly expanded their environment from the brooder space in the coop to just outside (in the barn alley, the chickens' indoor run) and eventually outside showing them all the favorite places around the barn and house. And right, NOBODY messed with the babies the 2 months she mothered them not even the top of the pecking order girls that felt it necessary to remind all the other hens that they WERE the top. When Zorra and the kids went to a favored spot all the other girls went to another.
In the alley outside the brooder area of the coop and out with "Momma" in front of the barn at 24 days old. One interesting thing I noticed is that Zorra was not particularly observant or wary before she raised the chicks. She became hypervigilant.
The 2012's did have to find their own way in the world and being new to chickens, I was concerned for their safety. I made them a temporary run about 16'x16' up against the back of the barn with access from the barn alley and let them out when I could watch them. As with human children, they got more latitude as they got older.
The 2017's had no Momma for the first 3 weeks (then Zorra decided she would be their nanny) and by then had found their own way out the north end of the barn through the always open door for the 2 alpacas.
In all cases, the chickens knew where home was because they started their forays close in, increased the distance in small steps and always came back as it got dark. Sure there is the occasional laggard especially in the summer but as noted, they will come for "chicken crack".
With regard to laying eggs in the nests, there is no reason to keep them in the coop and a small run until they start laying. They won't care about the nests until it is time to use them. The first girl that laid in 2012 did so next to the waterer. Probably thought she just had a big poop. All eggs since then went in the nest boxes. I do get the occasional "overnight" egg under the roosts or one laid outside a box. Most of them seem to prefer ONE nest and clearly you can't fit too many hens in at one time. Then there was Yuki who decided that she should lay in self made nests anywhere but in the barn summer of 2016. Thankfully she didn't return to that habit last year.
