Hens laying eggs in corner, instead of boxes???

[TheReadyBoys]

Every morning and night, when I go out to collect the eggs, I find the eggs in the corner of there pen, not in the laying boxes! I have no idea why, because the boxes are low enough for them to get in it. Also, they don't use the perch at night, which is the same height as the boxes! Any suggestions?

 

[HEChicken]

They want to roost as high as they can get so if you make your roosts higher than the nest boxes, they will be more appealing to them.

Regarding the eggs, how big are the nest boxes? Do they have that "private" feel to them? Perhaps leave a few plastic eggs in the boxes to give them the idea that's where the eggs should go?

 

[Judy]

You might have to close off the boxes at night, if that's where they are sleeping. Mine have always slept on the perch by laying age without training. I wonder if your perch is comfortable. They don't do well on something like a broomstick; their feet don't curl around things as well as other birds' do. I use the wide side of a 2x4. Many people use a thick branch; some even use small shelves. You should be able to train them to use the perch by setting them on it after dark for a few nights. Although, really, it doesn't matter a lot where they sleep if they are safe and not in the nests; I have two who sleep on a pile of hay on the floor.

You could try a golf ball or other fake egg in the nest, though I'd tackle the roost problem first if they are seeping in the nests.

 

[TheReadyBoys]

They don't sleep in the boxes. As for the fake egg, I have already tried, and that didn't work. I am moving them to a new pen once we finish it, so maybe that will make a difference.

 

[wullus]

Mine do the exact same thing!

I have silkies in this house now, (this is an old and only picture), so ignore the two sex links in this photo:



So what my silkie hen does is she jumps up into the nest box, looks at the three fake eggs I've put in there for a while, sits on them, tries to get comfortable, then goes to the corner where that cat dish is (which is no longer there) and digs a hole. She did this a few times, dug the hole, went up to the box, sat up there again, and then sat in the hole she dug in the dirt.

Eventually she layed it in the hole she dug in the dirt.

This is the second time she has laid an egg, and the second time she has done it! Wonder why she's doing that... I guess it is right in the corner of the coop. I've moved the fake eggs right into the corner of the nest box and see if that changes anything. Any suggestions?

 

[TheReadyBoys]

Hmm, that's weird. Maybe it's because it's warmer in the corner?