Hens Laying in the Woodchip Bag and Not the Box

[Melmom8]

Hi,

I recently received my first eggs from my 16 week old Star hens. I have 4 hens.
I was so excited.
I noticed that they seems to be laying in a bag of wood chips instead of the nesting box.
The nesting box is filled with the same woodchips and is cardboard and nice and private.
Another hen layed during the night on a wooden perch and of course it was smashed in the morning and had to be cleaned up.

How can I get them to go in the box?

Thanks,
Gail

 

[dsqard]

Do you have fake eggs or golf balls in the nesting box?

 

[Dora'smom]

Fake eggs or golf balls in the nest boxes should help. I tried the colored plastic eggs (Easter eggs) first, but didn't have anything in them, and they were so light that they got kicked out of the nest quickly. You might also try "showing the nest boxes to your birds, by picking them up and placing them in the boxes and allowing them to jump back down on their own. I would also remove the bag of shavings.
When my older girls first started laying, the occasional egg was laid out in the run, on the coop floor, or from the roost. It just took a little longer for some of them to get used to the idea of going to the nest box when they were ready. Sometimes I think it was because another hen was in the box or guarding the box.