How can I get my hen to lay in the nest box?

[rosemarythyme]

My daughter left some ceramic eggs in her nest box and half her flock are broody now!

Some breeds/specific birds are prone to broodiness, so even no eggs/fakes in a nest won't make a difference.

I think 1 fake per nest is plenty but shouldn't be enough to trigger broodiness, as they want a clutch to sit on. Obviously gotta keep picking up the real eggs as they get laid, so the "potential clutch" doesn't increase.

 

[9reasons]

So I have put one egg in the nest box again, so when she goes in overnight it’s there. She is an Orpington. I would have thought that if she lays in the nest box again that she will have found her place to lay and I can remove the wooden egg? I am pretty new to hens and I would hate to make her broody due to my ignorance?

 

[3KillerBs]

I never take the golf balls out of the nests.

In fact, I'm still using some of the same golf balls I had for the in-town flock nearly a decade ago.

Hens who are determined to go broody will go broody with or without eggs to sit on.