Hen won't lay in coop

[csmack71]

I currently have 4 young hens with only one laying at the moment. The only problem is that she doesn't lay in the coop. She waits to be let outside and heads for a bush and does her laying there. Not sure if that's a problem but is there anyway to get her to lay in the coop?

 

[Percheron chick]

Are your nesting boxes private and quiet? Have some fake eggs in the box and lock her up in the coop. Train her now so the other 3 don't follow her pattern.

 

[Kelsie2290]

Hello and Welcome To BYC! X2, lock her in the coop/run for a week or so and be sure your nest boxes are attractive to a chicken. If you free range your birds, you may always have trouble with some of them hiding nests, so you may want to put out "hidden" nests to keep those kinds of birds happy, 5 gal bucket, dog house etc, etc and just collect eggs out of it.

 

[alb123]

this is normal for young hens that just started to lay eggs. she wants to build her own nest. she'll need just a few days to learn where the nesting boxes are. this happens every year to me with my hens that just start to lay their first eggs. buut i sometimes let them 'decide' where they want to lay. all hens want private nests or nesting boxes. last year one my hens kept laying outside the nesting boxes and i was too busy with my exams that i forgot to check where she was laying. one day i noticed that she was missing in my flock and i got worried because i thought any fox could have killed her. anyway.. time passed and one morning my mom came to my bed and woke me up saying that i should followed her because she had a surprise for me. i did that and i followed her to my chicken coop and here she was. waaw. the 'missing' hen came with 13 chicks. she layed the eggs all by herself , went broody and hatched them. all the same colour. i was very happy. greeting from Albania.
p.s. this is my first time in this forum.

. hope i helped you

 

[HeIsKing]

this is normal for young hens that just started to lay eggs. she wants to build her own nest. she'll need just a few days to learn where the nesting boxes are. this happens every year to me with my hens that just start to lay their first eggs. buut i sometimes let them 'decide' where they want to lay. all hens want private nests or nesting boxes. last year one my hens kept laying outside the nesting boxes and i was too busy with my exams that i forgot to check where she was laying. one day i noticed that she was missing in my flock and i got worried because i thought any fox could have killed her. anyway.. time passed and one morning my mom came to my bed and woke me up saying that i should followed her because she had a surprise for me. i did that and i followed her to my chicken coop and here she was. waaw. the 'missing' hen came with 13 chicks. she layed the eggs all by herself , went broody and hatched them. all the same colour. i was very happy. greeting from Albania.
p.s. this is my first time in this forum.

. hope i helped you

thats SO COOL!! I wish my missing hen would show up with chicks!

 

[csmack71]

Thank you everyone, that was my first post and I received a lot of help. I will try those suggestions

 

[TwoCrows]

Welcome to BYC!

I agree! You need to lock her up in the coop when she is about to lay, keep fake eggs in the nest boxes and she will eventually lay in them. Make sure they are dark, quiet, clean and easy to access. Doing this will train her to lay in the boxes.

Welcome to our flock and enjoy yours!

 

[gander007]

 

[webejams]

I am having the same problem. My chickens just started laying about 2 weeks ago. I am finding eggs everywhere. Sometimes they are in the coupe. Thanks for advice.

 

[drumstick diva]