Hen laid an egg in my bed

[IckenchayOverlay]

I picked up a layer earlier this summer from a local gent. She’s an Ameraucana, age unknown, and almost immediately began laying in one of the egg boxes.

She has a favorite box, and the only time she laid anywhere else was when I moved the coop. After a few days, she went back to laying in her favorite box. She shares it with my other laying hen. The rest of my hens aren’t old enough to lay yet.

They’re all free-range most of the time. Yesterday I was doing work in the yard and left my door open. I went inside for something, looked at my bed, and saw that the covers were moving. I thought it was my cat who likes sleeping under blankets, but when I lifted the covers I saw that it was my hen.

She had burrowed under my covers and was acting like she wanted to lay an egg. I thought it was funny, so I left her alone. I came back later, and sure enough she had laid an egg. In case you’re wondering, yes I changed my sheets before going to bed.

What causes a hen to suddenly change laying spots, other than moving the typical laying spot to a new location? I cleaned the coop a couple of days ago, but I do that regularly, am using the same kind of bedding, and haven’t altered anything in her environment.

 

[bill3607]

That is the age old question. I have only 7 girls now and 5 boxes. They lay in every box at some time or another. Sometimes they will lay the majority on the ground in a corner under the laying boxes. Then, all of sudden they will just stop that. There was 1 box that they just stopped using all together for quite sometime and now they have started using it again. So, in other words, I have not a clue.

 

[CalBickieMomma]

I'm gonna say she considered your bed a safer, better place to lay ...? Not too sure, but what I do know is that chickens love blankets. I'm a sewer, and have lots of spare fabric/fleece lying around from the quilts I make. I've been creating mini-quilts and mini-blankets over the years for when I get new chicks to raise (I like to provide softies for them and am finally reaching a point where I have enough softies that I can use a few a day and change them out and have enough dirty ones to run a full load of laundry). I also have a slightly bigger quilt/blanket I sewed to put on my lap when I sit in my lawn chair in the coop/run with them. If I leave it on the chair - or hanging over their perch - someone either jumps into the chair and scratches around in it, or goes up onto the perch to sit on top of it (even if it is folded and hanging over the perch like laundry on a line). So ridiculous .

 

[LaFleche]

What causes a hen to suddenly change laying spots, other than moving the typical laying spot to a new location? I cleaned the coop a couple of days ago, but I do that regularly, am using the same kind of bedding, and haven’t altered anything in her environment.

She might be getting broody and want to start a clutch, finding your bed to be the most secure and snuggly place to do so.

 

[Chickassan]

Chickens love cloth and little caves made from cloth.
I've had one get inside an oversized shirt that was still on my back and lay an egg.
My girls were all brooded inside so they had tons of contact with blankets, clothing etc and I'm guessing they relate it with safety and overall positive experiences.

 

[IckenchayOverlay]

She might be getting broody and want to start a clutch, finding your bed to be the most secure and snuggly place to do so.

Yeah, I was wondering about that. I haven’t been collecting their eggs lately, because I want them to go broody. But the eggs just kept piling up, with no broody behavior.

As of yesterday, there were 14 eggs in the box, so a week’s worth for each of my chickens. I gave up and took them out because I don’t want them to rot in there. I’ve done that before with no change in behavior for my hens, but maybe Annika’s finally ready to brood and thought her nest box was an unsafe place since all the eggs disappeared.

She’s being abnormally receptive to my rooster today, if that means anything….