Hens lay in the oddest places

[rooster0209]

All winter the hens were locked up and dutifully layed in the nesting boxes. A few weeks into free ranging around the farm, they were still using the nesting boxes. But now some of hens have decided the haystack in the barn in the perferred place. Now, today I found eggs in the cat boxes. I didnt even know the holes cut in the boxes were big enough for chickens. What makes the barn so special?

Geez!

 

[b.hromada]

That is so silly! They do use some of the strangest things, I agree.

 

[mboreham1]

i used the hollow plastic eggs kids search for at easter in my nesting boxes, i put them in the nesting boxes from day 1, 3 months later when they started laying they laid only in the nesting boxes. Maybe putting a "dud" in the boxes will remind them where to lay.

If not, scold them loudly, put them in time out or try a shock collar everytime they try to lay anywhere other than the nesting boxes.

M

p.s i was joking above, just incase anyone things i have rigged a chicken shock collar.

 

[rooster0209]

Now that was funny!

 

[gryeyes]

Cracked me up!! LOL - chicken shock collar!!


Anyway, I bought a dozen plastic Easter Eggs, filled six of them with sand and glued them shut. Those are in the nest boxes, and appear to be working for me. At least, there aren't any eggs laid in the middle of the coop any more.

I chose colors nowhere near the colors of the eggs my girls lay. Since Rebecca's eggs are a lovely mint green, and Bernadette's are a deep, dark brown, I didn't want to see a plastic egg and get excited, thinking it was a real egg.

So my girls lay their eggs next to yellow plastic eggs, bright magenta plastic eggs, and deep, dark blue plastic eggs.

They even move the eggs around!! From one nest box to another. Amazing.