Hens hiding eggs in coop

[Heihei4]

Hello my fellow chicken tenders! I am back with more questions!

I have 4 hens that have been laying since the beginning of August.
1 recently was holding out on laying for about 3 days.. is that normal for new layers?

While that was happening - my other hens where hiding the eggs inside the chicken coop under the hay and shavings we use. To the point we would have to use gloves and move it all around the find them.. why would they do that?

Now they are all back to normal and laying in the nesting boxes.. I just find it odd this all happened at the same time.

 

[microchick]

It could be that your new layers are just trying to get the hang of what to do and where to do it.You could try putting a couple of fake eggs in a nest to 'show' them that this is a good spot to lay.

My roosters are also good at showing the hens where to nest, which is cute to watch.

The other possibility is that they are hiding eggs to go broody at a later date. Hens will stockpile eggs when they have a hankering for chicks.

I'd try the eggs in the nest though.My young layers leave eggs everywhere at first. Not so much to stockpile but the other birds kick chips over them while foraging around the coop.