Help! Pullet lays eggs on ground

[cicknmama]

Anyone had this experience? My Wellsummer just started laying about two weeks ago and I have never found her eggs in the nest box. She sits in it, does the eggs song, gets out and then as she's walking around outside, squats and lays her egg on the ground. Anyone know why and how I can fix it?

 

[LaurelC]

If you're around while she's hanging out in the nest box getting ready to lay, you may find that blocking her exit until she has laid her egg will do the trick. Maybe someone more experienced can chime in.

 

[das Huhnchen]

I've got a Welsummer and a Buckeye doing the very same thing. Searching posts to find a solution. I got a soft shelled egg and a broken egg on the floor today. Made sure to clean it right up, don't need egg eaters. Will other hens damage/attack coop mates eggs?

das Huhnchen

 

[junebuggena]

Dummy eggs in the nest boxes work well, but it can take new layers several weeks to get the hang of things.

 

[donrae]

I think of it as egg incontinence

. Young pullets are like toddlers being toilet trained. They don't always know what that sensation means and where they should go to take care of it. Bait the nest boxes with dummy eggs and they'll get the hang of it eventually. Nothing wrong with an egg laid on the ground, they scramble up just fine.

 

[cicknmama]

I think of it as egg incontinence . Young pullets are like toddlers being toilet trained. They don't always know what that sensation means and where they should go to take care of it. Bait the nest boxes with dummy eggs and they'll get the hang of it eventually. Nothing wrong with an egg laid on the ground, they scramble up just fine.

I had bait eggs in the nest boxes and it didn't seem to help that. It did seem to make my pullets broody though...so I took them out. Maybe I'll try them again. I have been thinking about putting up a curtain in front of the boxes, do you think privacy might help? Wonder if she feels rushed by the others? Do they just figure it out? Thanks!

 

[donrae]

Mine just figure it out. I use Rubbermaid totes for nest boxes. There's room for more than one hen, cause it seems to always be a group effort, like ladies using the rest room

. I have several boxes, only 2 get used. They pace and wait for the one(s) in the box to finish.

 

[cicknmama]

Mine just figure it out. I use Rubbermaid totes for nest boxes. There's room for more than one hen, cause it seems to always be a group effort, like ladies using the rest room . I have several boxes, only 2 get used. They pace and wait for the one(s) in the box to finish.

thanks, I'll just give it more time.

 

[cicknmama]

Update: There was some stress in my hen house. A broody old hen that I couldn't break was chasing my girls out of their boxes and another mean old crabby hen I called crazy kitty was pulling on feathers and being a bully. Sent them to the freezer and no more problems with egg laying.