Hens stopped laying eggs in the box

[mia9801]

Hello friends,

one of our hens died in a previously very popular nesting box a few months ago. Ever since all our hens have refused to lay eggs in there. We thoroughly cleaned the box multiple times but they won’t go in it. Instead they all squeeze into the remaining two nesting boxes, sometimes sitting on top of each other to lay their eggs.

Is it normal for chickens to completely reject a nesting box after one of their flock has died?

 

[Kiki]

Welcome to BYC!
They hens can all change which nest box they use many times throughout the years. They don't always stick to one.

 

[JPadronMiami]

Hello, I have seen that in my own flock, (the change in nesting boxes) right now I have a group of hens that prefer to use the corner horse feeder bins in the stalls instead of the boxes, horses dont seem to mind, we pick up our eggs daily.