Hen Laying egg wherever she happens to be...

[NellaBean]

I had a cochin who did this. I would find an egg next to the wood pile. In front of the coop door. One in the back grass near the stairs and faucet area. Totally random. It's like they just were falling out. Kind of hilarious

Eventually I stopped finding random eggs and started finding those same looking eggs in the nest boxes, so I guess she eventually figured it out.

 

[Andi]

My girls did the same thing when they started laying. It took about 2-3 months until they figured it out. Once they did it was like someone flipped a switch and their little light bulbs turned on for all of them at the same time.

Try taking the eggs and putting them where you want them to be and show them and leave them there. Some people do dummy eggs, but personally, I didn't have any luck trying that. It was the real eggs in the nest box that did the trick. Best I can tell, it seems like a few eggs in a collective spot trigger brooding instinct. From what I've read chickens get a bunch of eggs into a nest and then start setting on them so they all hatch at relatively the same time. So its natural for them to want to collect a bunch together.

Another thing I tried was keeping them locked up in the morning until they got most of the eggs laid - in the coop - before they got to go out. The girls that laid later in the morning or early afternoon were less likely to lay outside if there was eggs in the box inside to add to.

Even if you don't do anything, chances are they'll figure it out on their own, unless they find a different spot that they prefer. If they're new to laying, like what was already said, they're still figuring out what's happening to them.

Good luck.

 

[djmb74]

I have 6 other hens that have been laying for a while. There are always eggs in the boxes for her to see. I am getting 4-5 eggs everyday. My Golden Comet started laying in July and has almost everyday since then. My Rhode Island White is almost as productive. They were both my first hens. The Rhode Island White is Zakia and she is the dominate hen but almost seems like she shares the responsibility of being the dominant hen with Goldy our golden comet. They both have been trained to come to you when you pat your hand against your leg and the rest usually follow.