Help! Need to stop my chicken laying over at the neighbour's.

[tinselheart]

So my little olive egger pullet started disappearing each day and we've just been on a hunt and discovered her sitting on a clutch of 18 tiny olive eggs over in the neighbour's garden. She's been sneaking away to sleep on the clutch too the last three nights.

My question is how do I now get her to lay and sleep in the henhouse like all our other chickens do? They all free range and chicken wiring the neighbour's fence isn't feasible. She's never laid an egg in the henhouse; her first was the start of this clutch.

Help! Pic of the culprit:

 

[ChickenCanoe]

Are those eggs fertile?
The only way to do it is to confine her where you want her to lay till she lays two or three eggs there. That should retrain her.
I once had a hen that would leave her flock and coop, hop over the fence to another of my flocks, go into that building to lay her egg under threat of attack from the other flock.
She had never been in that building so I don't know how she new there were nests in there.

 

[Aapomp831]

Build a run. There is no other way.

 

[tinselheart]

Are those eggs fertile?
The only way to do it is to confine her where you want her to lay till she lays two or three eggs there. That should retrain her.
I once had a hen that would leave her flock and coop, hop over the fence to another of my flocks, go into that building to lay her egg under threat of attack from the other flock.
She had never been in that building so I don't know how she new there were nests in there.

Not fertile, no.

Right so I'll need to close the whole flock in the run I think for a few days. They will probably be very grumpy (there's space, they're just used to free ranging every day) but worth it if it trains her to lay where she's supposed to.

 

[ChickenCanoe]

It will definitely make a difference. As creatures of habit, you'll need to force a change of the habit.

 

[aart]

Right so I'll need to close the whole flock in the run I think for a few days. They will probably be very grumpy (there's space, they're just used to free ranging every day) but worth it if it trains her to lay where she's supposed to.

Yeppers!

Free range birds sometimes need to be 'trained'(or re-trained) to lay in the coop nests, especially new layers. Leaving them locked in the coop/run for a week or so can help 'home' them to lay in the coop nests. Fake eggs/golf balls in the nests can help 'show' them were to lay. They can be confined to coop and maybe run 24/7 for a few days to a week, provided you have adequate space and ventilation, or confine them at least until mid to late afternoon. You help them create a new habit and they will usually stick with it. ..at least for a good while, then repeat as necessary.

 

[black_cat]

So my little olive egger pullet started disappearing each day and we've just been on a hunt and discovered her sitting on a clutch of 18 tiny olive eggs over in the neighbour's garden. She's been sneaking away to sleep on the clutch too the last three nights.

My question is how do I now get her to lay and sleep in the henhouse like all our other chickens do? They all free range and chicken wiring the neighbour's fence isn't feasible. She's never laid an egg in the henhouse; her first was the start of this clutch.

Help! Pic of the culprit:View attachment 2557420

Are you SURE that that's an olive egger? That picture makes her look almost like a russian orloff.

 

[NatJ]

Are you SURE that that's an olive egger? That picture makes her look almost like a russian orloff.

The color of the eggs would be a good indication...

 

[black_cat]

The color of the eggs would be a good indication...

Whoops





Sorry OP!

 

[black_cat]

I agree that the best way to stop her from doing this is to break the habit by closing them in the run for a while. You can repeat if the problem begins again.