How do I get my chickens to use their nest boxes?

[chinzilla]

Well I finally found my GLW hidden laying spot. I've looked everywhere. The other day I was outside with them, when I realized I hadn't seen her in awhile. So I threw some mealworms out and still no girl, so I went on the hunt and finally found her. About 8 feet up under my shed. Well she finally came out and that evening when they all went to bed, I got a rake and was digging around back there. I could barely reach back there with my 6 ft rake and super long arms, but after about 15 mins of digging out grass, dirt, & sticks, i found them.





We were busy yesterday, so tonight, I got under there and scooped out all the eggs, until I was pretty certain there were no more.



11 eggs we missed out on eating

. I only poked my rake through one of them. Luckily it didn't stink. Oh well, will get the mesh up tomorrow so the girls can't go under there anymore.

 

[Chicks Galore3]

i put golf balls in the nesting boxes, but appherantly not soon enough....one of my chickens lays her eggs in the feeder.....

 

[TnMama]

I was going to ask the same question. Mine run free all day too. Many of mine roost in the trees above the hen house. I'm concerned about the same thing. I have one little buff orp. who is giving us a smallish egg every day in the hen house. I hope she tells her sisters.. I'm just anxious for the rest to start.

 

[Chicks Galore3]

how old are your BO? i have some and i don't know when to expect them to start laying.

 

[chinzilla]

Our lady has completely ignored the nest box. She didn't lay until she was about 23 weeks old but now she's laying a plump brown egg daily - sometimes TWICE daily! - but she lays it in her own nest she created. I put little fake eggs in the box but she seems completely unconcerned.

Guess you can't force 'em!

 

[senoeluna]

Hi guys I have 3 hens and 1 rooster this morning I went to the coop to give them food and water and I saw the rooster mating with one of the hens!

So I got exited and started wondering when the hen will lay the egg(s).please tell me how long I have to wait till she lays and tell me what I can do to encourage her to lay?

 

[FarmGirlForLife]

In my experience roosters aren't very particular when they first start getting into the swing of things. When my roosters first started mating with the hens they also started trying to do it with the other roosters, the ducks and the geese. In some cases they would tag team. If you are wondering when your hens will lay, six months is a good guidelines, give or take a few weeks depending on the breed and the weather. The amount of light also effects their laying. If you believe they are going to, start offering them oyster shell to prevent weak shells when they do start laying. About all you can do to encourage her is increase the lighting, although that comes with its own hazards. If you push her too hard too soon, she may stop laying sooner in her life. But it would be rather difficult to push her that hard outside of an egg factory. Just a side observation, I hope you have a gentle rooster with only three hens.

 

[dutchlion]

Some of our girls just started laying... yesterday i found our first egg- in the dust bath. It was perfect! Today someone else laid a "top shelf" rubber egg ... and by top shelf i mean that it took her by surprise and she was still on the roost- splat onto the coop floor! We have our nest boxes out, but the only thing they seem to want to do with those is make a mess out of the hay. How can I entice them to lay eggs in them rather than just play in them? Thanks!

 

[pipchick1]

Did you keep them in the coop for about a week or two? I have a cage and a coop connected to it. I kept my first group of chickens in the coop for 2 week then let them out. They got used to the environment. So when it was time for them to lay eggs, they would lay them in the coop

 

[pipchick1]

I know a lot about this, I've been taking care of chickens since 2011