Hens laying on the floor

[palabeco]

They have been laying in the nest boxes, but the last couple of days I've been finding the eggs on the floor under the nest boxes. Why are they doing this? I have 3 hens laying right now, and 2 of them have started laying on the floor.

 

[okiechick57]

Hi, they make no sense to me.......where they start laying.........then go to laying.drives me nuts....keep a fake egg or golfball in where you want them to and just keep watch......... I dont know that there is anything you can do . Mine have 9 boxes and now are laying in one only.....then some out in nest when they free range........and they all lay at different times of the day

 

[Gracie_Chickie]

We thought our chickens were on strike! Then my mom found 5 eggs neatly buried in the shavings! Tricky little girls!

 

[patandchickens]

(everytime someone posts this topic title, and it has happened a couple times now, I am always really surprised when I read the message and discover it's NOT about, well, hens laying on the floor

)

My girls sometimes decide the nest box needs reupholstering, so to speak... it may look fine to ME, but if I pitch the bedding out onto the coop floor and refill it with new shavings (or I suppose whatever else you use) they go right back to laying in the box. Maybe it gets to smelling funny even if I can't see any poo, maybe it no longer fluffs up just the right way, who knows... at this point, we've got the system down to where they tell me it's time to change the nest box bedding so I shrug and change the bedding

If it's not that, two other possibilities would be a mite infestation in the nest box, or one of the hens deciding to be obnoxious to the others.

Good luck,

Pat

 

[Tuffoldhen]

I find that hens are just like people..no one is perfect all the time...

they do what they want to do at times and if its laying an egg on the floor thats where it goes

Golf balls, fake eggs and clean shavings in their nests, even if the clean shavings mean on the coop floor

 

[palabeco]

Thanks for the info. I have 6 nest boxes and they all lay in one, so maybe someone was hogging it so they laid their eggs right underneath. Anyways, I found the eggs in the nestbox later after I posted. I had just put new straw in a couple of days before and it was different than what I usually get,(not short pieces, but long strands) maybe they couldn't fluff it up. Most of it is kicked out of the box now. I think I will have to tear it up into smaller pieces.

 

[Scrambled Egg]

My girls sometimes decide the nest box needs reupholstering, so to speak... it may look fine to ME, but if I pitch the bedding out onto the coop floor and refill it with new shavings (or I suppose whatever else you use) they go right back to laying in the box. Maybe it gets to smelling funny even if I can't see any poo, maybe it no longer fluffs up just the right way, who knows... at this point, we've got the system down to where they tell me it's time to change the nest box bedding so I shrug and change the bedding

If it's not that, two other possibilities would be a mite infestation in the nest box, or one of the hens deciding to be obnoxious to the others.

Good luck,

Pat

That's why I like you Pat, your advice is always so simple, sensible and nicely stated!!...well, and also informative since that never occured to me, duh, lol!!!! Every now and then I will find one on the ground but I just figure all the boxes are busy when that happens, I will change all the nest box bedding todya though sinc I just never thought of a reason to do that before

 

[SillyChick]

It's quite common for chickens to lay anywhere they like.......don't know why.......but it can be quite irritating.......