How do I teach them where to lay?

[tracylhl]

My hens are starting to lay. So far, just one of them has layed but they are the same age so I expect others to follow suit very soon. The problem is that my alpha hen laid her first egg on Saturday but she jumped up on top of my rabbit's cage to do so. I saw her getting ready to do it and was concerned but decided I should leave her alone. I was wrong... she laid as I was about 25 ft away and it fell on a board that is warped and has the slightest curve to it. It rolled right off the side of the rabbit hutch and onto a fence next to it where it broke. I was sad but decided to hope it was a fluke and that she would find a nesting box the next time. Today I went out and she was sitting in the same place doing the same song and dance getting ready to lay again. She didn't like that I was there and I ended up taking her down and putting her in her run in hopes that she would lay. We have a tractor with nesting boxes in the coup and then an attached run. Now she's made that she's not out free-ranging with the others and isn't looking like she's going to lay. They don't seem to use the nesing boxes for anything but sleeping in. We don't have poles for them to roost on right now. We plan to build a new, bigger coup very soon and put poles in it but for now, the tractor is what we have and the nesting boxes are taking the place of a poles and the rabbit's cage is being used for a nesting box!!!

So... all that to say... How can I get her to stop laying somewhere where the eggs will always end up rolling off and breaking? There is nothing but an (almost) flat board on there so she's not being enticed by fluffy bedding or anything. The only thing I can figure is that it's where she feels she can get away a little. Or, should I just put a nesting box on top of the rabbit hutch?

 

[Jolyn]

When mine started laying they went to a far corner of the coop. I wanted them in the box so i got a couple cat little boxes and put them upside down in the corner so they couldn't get in there to lay. Then i put the eggs they had laid in the nest boxes and then put the hens in there too. I also put some wooden fake eggs in there too. Didn't take long and they got the idea.

 

[faykokoWV]

your first mistake was letting them sleep in the nesting boxes. Its an easy mistake to make, but once they use them for sleeping they tend to poop in them and they don't want to lay eggs in poop. so your first step is to cover up the nesting boxes at night so they can't sleep in them. If you don't have roosts, improvise. Before I had roosts, I took an old chair with the seat out of it and turned it upside down. A milk crate would work in a pinch too ( make sure to weight it down so it doesn't tip. Ideally the roost should be higher than the nesting boxes.

Once you get them out of the boxes at night, change the nesting material and clean out any poo. you can try wooden eggs or golf balls in the nest to give them the idea. I actually took and egg, marked it so I would know which was the old one, and put it in there for a day along with the golf ball.

your other option is like you said, until you get the new coop built, put a nesting box on top of the rabbit hutch. Again, a milk crate could come in handy, just turn it on its side and put the nesting material in it. the problem with that is if its exposed to the elements the nesting material will get funky fast and I doubt your hen will want to lay an egg in the rain.

 

[tracylhl]

Thanks! Fay, on your advice, I've installed a make-shift pole for roosting and have cleaned out the nesting boxes. I'm going to lock them up (the boxes) for the night and the chickens can have access to them again in the morning. And since both of you suggested it, they'll be snuggling up to some golf balls starting in the morning.

 

[Ilikemychickens]

I am reading intently. We got our first egg this morning. The crazy hen layed it out in the run. I have two golfballs in every box so were not sure why she didnt go there.

 

[NotTheMomma]

Mom gave me some ceramic eggs to put in the nests. However, I like those eggs, so couldn't part with them.

Instead they have plastic easter eggs in the nests, and seem none the wiser. I've noticed about every other day I get an egg not in the nests, but after that, they figure out where to go.