Help! Chicken laying egg from roost.

[camocutey]

I have a chicken which keeps laying an egg from the roost. I do not know which hen it is. Every morning when I go into the coop, there is a broken egg at the bottom of the roost. How do I get her to go back to laying in the nesting box? We do have a new Turkey, which is roosting with them at night in the coop. He may be the issue. We are in the process of building a separate coop for him, but it is not finished. Once he is removed, will she go back to laying in the nesting box?

 

[abraga]

Sometimes...seems all the chickens like to use the same nest box. I have 8 boxes but they fight over 4. Sometimes..if the hens I have that are lower in the pecking order don't get to the nest box on time they will b waiting thier turn on the roost but drop an egg. Does the turkey perhaps bully the hens keeping them from the Box? Maybe u should try kicking the turkey out 1st thing in the morning or adding more boxes. Completion is fierce n my coop for the same nest boxes. Sometimes my senior hens will run the weaker hens off the box!

 

[Kate E]

I had this problem last summer and was able to correct the behavior by putting fake ceramic eggs in the nesting boxes and leaving them there full time (this was a year ago and the fake eggs are still in the boxes). The fake eggs show the hens where "other hens" lay their eggs which encourages them to do the same. My coop doesnt have a poop board under the roost so I lay shavings under the roost to make cleaning easier. I was piling the shavings too high that I think my hens thought they could just drop their eggs from the roost into the shavings. I started using minimal shavings under the roost which also helped discourage them from dropping their eggs from the roost.

Try the ceramic eggs if you haven't already and if you use shavings under the roost perhaps try cutting down on the amount you use.

 

[camocutey]

The Turkey does not bother the hens. I have several hens that sleep in boxes. And he sits right next to them. I also have 10 nesting boxes for 8 hens right now. I only have two ceramic eggs in two boxes. Should I get one ceramic egg for each box?

 

[Kate E]

I have 5 hens, 3 boxes and ceramic eggs in 2 boxes. My hens only lay in the boxes where the ceramic eggs are. Maybe pick up a few extra ceramic eggs, I’m not sure you need one in every box though.

There may be something else going on that would encourage a hen to lay from the roost that I’m unaware of. These are just small things I changed in my own coop that have worked.

 

[featherhead007]

Just put one basket under each hen! quick fix!

 

[camocutey]

Thank you for all the help. I also might have to get a catchers mit.

 

[featherhead007]

Thank you for all the help. I also might have to get a catchers mit.

So, you sleep in your coop too!

 

[camocutey]

Might have to, in order to find out which girl is the culprit

 

[featherhead007]

I actually spend a lot of time in the coop with my hens. .... After all, I am a rooster!