hidden eggs

[farmerjoe1896]

how do you prevent your chickens from laying eggs under bushes when they are out freeranging for the day??

also here is a video of our coop so you can get an idea of it.

 

[N&MSchroeder]

Hi and

. We are experiencing the same problem. We usually wait until early afternoon before we let them free range. This cuts down on the problem. They do have a nice coop/run so they are comfortable, but not happy. Several of my birds do make it over the 6 foot fence, but I don't want to cut their wing feathers. When we do let them out earlier, I try to watch where they go. I have found a couple of nests and I make sure to leave a golf ball in there. I didn't do this at first and they kept moving their nests where I couldn't find them. We have plenty of hens and therefore plenty of eggs, so I am not TOO upset about losing the eggs, but it is annoying. I found 1 olive green egg in the grass and nothing since so I don't know who laid it or where she is laying now. Good luck!

 

[happyhensny]

We leave our hens in until noontime- by then they have usually laid their egg for the day inside.

 

[franklinchickens]

Ours free range all day - they go out about 7 and come back in at dark. We have a fairly small yard with a tree line and most go right into the nest boxes to lay but we have one EE who is notorious for laying in the compost bin, in the trees, wherever. Whenever we don't see a blue egg for a while, we go on a hunt. She's the only one that does it - not sure why. We remove all the eggs we find and block off the spot she's picked and then she starts laying in the box again. But after a few months, we're at it again. Not sure why but there it is.

 

[kaybats]

I guess I have just been lucky so far...whenever my girls have the urge to lay, they scurry back in to the nest boxes.

Even the two new one year old cinnamons that I didn't raise up.