How do you find where the girls are laying???

[nhchickmom]

Hi All,

We let our hens free range during the day and up until a few weeks ago they would go back into the coop to lay or lay in a nest outside near the coop. Lately we haven't been getting hardly any eggs. Are they laying in the woods somewhere? Any tips on how to find their secret stash. I don't want to keep them closed in, but we do want some eggs

 

[Omran]

Quote:
I think you might have to lock them up for a while till they get back to the good old way, or preditors will start coming for the eggs, you also can watch them for a bit and see where they are going.

 

[crystal98110]

I agree with Omran. Put them back in the coop for a while. Otherwise, spend the entire day following them around to find the nests. If you let them lay outside, you do run the risk of predators finding the eggs. (and coming back for more!) What ever you do, once you find the outside nests, DO NOT destroy them. My mother tried this, and they just made new nests elsewhere! She had to hunt for them all over again! lol

 

[BluegrassSeramas]

What ever you do, once you find the outside nests, DO NOT destroy them. My mother tried this, and they just made new nests elsewhere!

Good point!!​

 

[basicliving]

I agree with every point made in response to your question - even though I still have hens making hidden nests while free ranging. I think hidden nests are just a fact of life if you free range. You may break them of it for a while, but when you start free ranging again, they are very likely going to find another hidden place that is just SO much nicer than their nest boxes.

Quote:
This is absolutely true - I left a fake plastic egg in the last hidden nest I found so that I would at least be able to collect those eggs in hidden nests. But I went out after a few days to check that nest and found a rat snake in it - with a fake plastic egg about 2 inches down his throat.

I think the only way to ensure you get all your eggs is to not free range. I had major issues when I kept my chickens penned, so I accept the fact that I may lose a chicken or two and an egg or two (or 10, or 20!) by free ranging. It's still frustrating! But I have to do what works best with my flock.

Best of luck finding those hidden nests - those hens are really clever little buggers when it comes to finding good hiding places!

 

[Portia]

Mine also free range and for awhile I dropped down to 3-4 eggs a day out of my 10 laying hens. Upon further inspection I found a number of them were moulting. Its been a month and we are now back up to 5-9 per day, so I guess several have come out of moult.

 

[duckidaho]

Same problem with our young layers. We've locked them up and are getting 6 eggs a day rather than one or two. Never did find the range eggs, so maybe a predator got them. They've got an O.K. sized run, but we really prefer to free range them. They seem so much happier. We're thinking about just letting them out to range at 5 o'clock for a couple of hours.

 

[nhchickmom]

Thanks all! I have been really observing and watching them and I atually think that they might be moulting and not laying out in the woods. Can anyone help me define "moulting". They are losing a lot of feathers, but otherwise seem happy and healthy. How long does this last? Thanks

 

[Happy Chooks]

There was a post from yesterday that someone posted a picture of moulting.

 

[gritsar]

Quote:
You can find pics of moulting by doing a search here on BYC.
How old are your girls? Mine went thru a mini-moult in the 7 to 9 month range. You'll find lots of feathers in the coop and the chickens themselves have lots of tuffs sticking out all over the place or in the case of a full moult, they look like someone plucked them with a blindfold on.
You can encourage new feather growth by upping the protein in the diet. I offered cheese, yogurt, meat, eggs, and small amounts of dry cat food. Also, black oil sunflower seeds.
A moult can last anywhere from a week or two to months.