Help needed with roosting behaviour and broodiness

[klwombat]

So... we have 2 hens about 9 months old. They have been laying for a month or so. One Australorp and one Rhode Island Red. We have a small A-frame coop (1metre base) with two roosts under cover and a netted area. We initially left them in for a few days then chased them in at night. After a while they started flying at dusk onto the metal rim of the clothesline and we scooped them up and locked them in the coop until morning. they have each found an accessible place in the garden to lay. The Australorp has been laying most days and all seems ok. The red has been fussy and erratic in her laying. Last week she laid a couple of soft shell eggs (two in the space of less than an hour in the late evening). We were going away and thought it would be easier for the carer if they just stayed on the clothesline at night - it has a cover for the weather - and it seemed ok. We tried it for a few days before we left. There were a couple of splattered soft eggs under the roosting spot - not sure if they were laid before they went up or were laid from the roost. Anyway, my husband came back last night (after being away for four nights) and eventually found the red still sitting on her nest in the dark with four eggs . He removed the eggs and put the girls back in the coop. The red now has gone back for most of the last two days and is sitting on her nest again. Then, this evening, teh Australorp was sitting on her eggless nest as well ie not on the clothesline to roost. We have carried them back into their coop for the night. I'd love to know what is going on!

My questions are:
Is it ok to leave them on the line at night if it is safe from foxes? How do you get them off teh nest and onto the roost again?
Is the red broody? Is the Australorp broody too or is she just copying the other one?
If the red is then do we lock her in the coop (she has never laid an egg in there)? Do we lock our Australorp in too? If so, what do we do about her eggs?

We gave up on nesting boxes in the coop as they didn't seem interested in laying there anyway!

My understanding is that to stop the broodiness you have to lock them in for a week. Is that correct?

Looking for ward to hearing from you experienced folk out there!!!

 

[RedfogsFlock]

WOW Those are some stubborn girls you have there. If your one girl is still laying soft eggs i have to ask if you are giving her oyster shell? Our you can feed them eggshells. My RIR is just now starting to use the nest boxes, and she is currently 6 months old. So as for the nesting boxes maybe give them time. Do you have a rooster? I ask because our oldest girl started taking on the rooster roll and roosting at night instead of going into the nesting boxes.

I have yet to experience a broody gen, so I can't help you there, sorry. Now on nice evenings our girls will lay out in the coop on the ground. At first it worried me, but then I was just like egh! Eventually they went back to their nesting boxes.

So here's to hoping someone with more experience gets in on this thread!