Hen laying egg from her Roost..... HELP

[h_palmer]

Hi all

I am new to all this and have two chickens both started laying around a month or so and we werent sure what to do so we setup two cardboard boxes with straw in them and they both started laying in the same one but being cardboard they didnt work out.....

We have since built a wooden box, nice and dark and has two sections to it, the first two days they both layed in the same side again, then all of a sudden only one is so for the last four mornings I have found a broken egg below where they roost at night. I went to my local poultry place a bought two fake eggs and put them in each side of the nesting box (yesterday) this morning there was one on the ground again but hadnt broken because it landed in a massive pile of poo but the other one hadnt laid in the box so took the fake egg away and came back and checked an hour later and low and behold there was the egg..... so I guess the fake eggs arent going to do the trick..

The other thing I tried was hanging some material underneath the roosting area above where I had been finding the broken eggs hopeing to catch them but she seemed to move over and away from it to drop her egg...

Anyone got any ideas whats going on, I really miss my two eggs a day. I have tried going in really early like 5am but again have missed it so think that maybe she is laying at night or something.... I have put them both in the nesting box so they feel comfortable but have run out of ideas.

Hope someone can come up with something to help

Regards
Heather

 

[dominiquePL]

I think you need to give them more time than one day. I'd put the fake eggs back in. I guess it was a coincidence with the fake egg (that your girl waited for you to remove it)- not that she didn't like it. They don't always lay the frst thing in the morning. If you are concerned maybe put fake eggs just in one section.

 

[h_palmer]

Thanks for that will do, I will put both eggs in the other side and just see what happens tomorrow......

Thanks again
Heather

 

[oaklandmama]

I agree with PP, you probably should give her more than one day to sort it out. Mine did some funny laying when they started and eventually it all seems to work itself out. Their natural instinct will win over. Maybe that one likes the cardboard. If it doesn't resolve in a few days you could line the wooden boxes with a square of cardboard and see what happens. Good luck!

 

[h_palmer]

Ok back to the drawing board.......

I now know which one is laying in the nest and which is laying on the roost...... Lulu is my roost girl...

I put the fake eggs back into the nest yesterday and this morning when I went and checked one broken egg under the roost area of course totally missing the little trap I had setup to catch any falling eggs underneath.

There was also no egg in the nest to so I took out the fake eggs and went to hang the washing out as soon as I had done that Tiny promptly jumped in, I went to check on her and she came out again so I put the eggs back in - (on the other side not the side she lays in) and she wandered around the coop and kept looking in and going away, so I took them out again and she hopped in again and stayed in there for about half an hour then we heard her cackling away, went and check and low and behold an egg...

Now what I have done is remove some of the sticks they roost on and ensured that the material covers the whole area so will see what happens tomorrow, I thought maybe the next resort is to take all the roosts down and see what happens.

Dunno, am I doing the right thing here ???? The fake eggs seriously dont seem to work for Tiny and yes maybe instead of taking the roosts down I setup the cardboard box again. Although the first morning they did both lay in the new wooden box.

Any further ideas would be greatly appreciated.

Regards
Heather

 

[h_palmer]

Well the problem has seemed to have solved itself

- dunno but for 8 days Lulu layed on her roost we setup a tray underneath to catch the egg and it worked without it getting broken so didnt worry me too much.....

Then we got two new additions to the little family - two younger point of lay chickens the first morning the egg was in the tray as usual but yesterday she laid in the nest box, not the one tiny lays in but at least she was using it again so I was happy, then again this morning she laid in the same one as her sister - so I am hopeing that the problem has resolved itself.

Do you think the additional chicken appearing have helped solve the problem??

Thanks for all your replies
Heather