How Do I Train My Hen To Use Nesting Boxes?

[Headers Hen House]

Yep!
But......I think a perch in front of nests would help a great deal,
a 2x2 about 6-8" in front of nests, so she can jump up on perch and pick a nest.
Have you ever seen her, or evidence that she's been, in the nests checking things out?

Good idea, but that would be in the way of my door that I was going to make to grab the eggs out of the boxes on the left side. Plus, wouldn't they roost on that bar and poop in the boxes? I had to move my original roosting bar back a little bit for that reason.

 

[aart]

Good idea, but that would be in the way of my door that I was going to make to grab the eggs out of the boxes on the left side. Plus, wouldn't they roost on that bar and poop in the boxes? I had to move my original roosting bar back a little bit for that reason.

Wouldn't egg gathering door swing out rather than in?
Roost is higher than nests or nest perch,
nest perch should be same level as bottom of nests,
that should take care of that issue.
Would be easy to hinge a nest cover in there too if needed.

 

[Headers Hen House]

Okay, I understand where you're talking about. I will get to that.

Do i keep the decoy eggs in there until she does it? Or do I gather them every day and put them back in there?

 

[lazy gardener]

Leave them.

 

[Dawnjanell]

Dummy eggs helped me a lot. I do have 2 chickens that still do not want to use the nest boxes, but now that is just part of their quirks.

I had one girl that laid her eggs at night from the perch for almost her whole first year.

 

[Pater est Pullis]

I had one girl that laid her eggs at night from the perch for almost her whole first year.

I think I have one of those. I kept finding an egg (or two) under the roost bar, I put a bucket down and it seemed to help, I'd either find it in a box or in the run, but recently it started happening again. I finally got last poop board in, hoping if she continued to lay on the floor, at least it won't be in poop. Wrong, she lays on the poop board, so lowered the other roost bar to the same level of the second, hoping this would cut back on her ability to get on the board, didn't help, but I'm thinking she may be dropping them at night, I have upon occasion found the eggs cracked, last one was definitely had an impact crack on the tip.

When my girls first started laying, they didn't use the nest boxes, had golf balls from previous homeowner, didn't take, but when I used brown, ceramic eggs (I have ISA Browns), Presto! It was like magic. My question regarding training eggs, do you continue to use them, or remove once trained?

 

[aart]

My question regarding training eggs, do you continue to use them, or remove once trained?

I leave them in, one in each nest to 'spread the love'.