Hen not using nesting boxes to lay eggs...

[kritiostodd]

Hey all,

I've got 4 nesting boxes and 5 chickens, 2 chickens of egg baring age, though only one is laying. This one chicken does not use a nesting box, but instead lays right in the middle of the hen house floor, resulting very frequently in a cracked egg from being stepped on by all the others. So frustrating!! Ideas on how to solve this?

Jen

 

[bobelot]

My chicken layed on the floor of there coop once and I didn't know why so looked in the nesting boxes and they were filled with poo from the chickens sleeping on the dividers of the nesting boxes

 

[sallihennipenni]

I've heard that putting a golf ball in the nesting boxes will help. May be worth a try? We've had an occasional egg on the floor, but it hasn't happened that any hen of ours decided to ALWAYS lay on the floor. Are your nesting boxes out of direct sunlight? A bit dark is a good thing....they like that. How long has this one hen been laying??

 

[msladyhawke]

I had this happening and put a couple fake eggs in the right spot for them to lay, and they started laying there right away.

 

[aleebama]

I use ping pong balls in my nests. We aren't golfers and they were much cheaper than golf balls!

 

[featheredmom]

We bought plastic "practice balls" at Walmart, I think 8 were $2, since our chickens won't be golfing, it doesn't matter the composition ;-)

We also used 2 plastic eggs from the previous easter.

Basically they just need something to know where you want them to lay.

 

[Txwingnut]

LOL I have 2 golf balls in the nest and I have 1 hen that goes in there every day, rearranges everything sits for a bit, then goes and lays her egg under an ornamental grass!