humblehillsfarm
Crazy chicken lady
I feel like I already know the answers here, but still I thought someone could offer up some of their experience. I moved my girls to a new coop and they refuse to lay in the nest boxes. Initially I had some real and fake eggs, 1-2 eggs in three out of eight available nest boxes, and they just lay in the floor. They are all newer layers and in the old coop they were laying in the nest boxes. The new boxes are about 11.5” wide, 12” deep, and up to 12” tall. The boxes are about 6” off the floor.
I also have an extra brooding coop attached to the main coop with nest boxes on the floor. If given access, they will lay in those boxes but I can’t let that continue because I need the space for breeding. When I blocked off those boxes they laid in the floor. I’ve also caught one about to lay and repeatedly picked her up and showed her the correct nest box.
After four days I’ve picked up each egg that had been laid and put it in a nest box. Will too many eggs deter them? Will their behavior ever change? I don’t want to leave them locked up longer than necessary. This is causing more anxiety than it should lol.
Where I want them to lay:
Where they had been laying until I blocked the boxes:
And yes, they have coop litter now.
I also have an extra brooding coop attached to the main coop with nest boxes on the floor. If given access, they will lay in those boxes but I can’t let that continue because I need the space for breeding. When I blocked off those boxes they laid in the floor. I’ve also caught one about to lay and repeatedly picked her up and showed her the correct nest box.
After four days I’ve picked up each egg that had been laid and put it in a nest box. Will too many eggs deter them? Will their behavior ever change? I don’t want to leave them locked up longer than necessary. This is causing more anxiety than it should lol.
Where I want them to lay:
Where they had been laying until I blocked the boxes:
And yes, they have coop litter now.