How does it all work

[Aussie farm boy]

I bought some day old chicks for my kids and have raised them for about 9 weeks now. We also rescued 2 older chooks from some friends who wanted to get rid of them. The 2 older chooks are laying eggs but they are laying them on the floor of their coop and then standing on them and breaking them. I have tried using old milk cartons as laying boxes and puting hay in the bottom of the milk cartons for them to nest in. But when I go to get the eggs that have emptied the milk cartons because they have gone scratching in the hay. Also is there a certain time of day or night they lay and does the laying boxes need to be in a dark spot for them to lay? This is all new to me so any info would be great.

 

[chilling in muscadine]

Hens like a private spot to lay. Try moving the nest boxes in different spots and see if this helps. If not try putting a couple of golf balls in the nest box to give them a clue. Are your nest boxes off the ground? If not try moving them off the ground and see if this helps.. I have found that hens have a mind all there on. Crazy birds. I had a first time layer flying up onto the rafters of my front porch and then laying her egg. {splat} My hen was egging me. LOL
Keep trying til they figure it out and good luck.

 

[Southernbelle]

There's no set time that they'll lay. They only lay during daylight hours and I think the general rule is they lay every 25 hours, so if one lays an egg at 10am, the next day she'll lay at 11am, etc. But this time of year is especially erratic with the days shortening and fall molting...so nothing is guaranteed!

I would say the eggs on the floor mean they aren't happy about their nesting situation, so you'll have to try a few things to see what will make them happy. My nest boxes are cat litter buckets turned on their sides and filled with hay and golf balls. I put them in the darkest, quietest part of the coop. Most of the hens lay in the nests, but I do have a few oddballs who like to lay in little corners here and there. When I put fresh hay in the nests, I throw a bunch on the floor for them to play in to keep them from pulling it out of the nests.

Try changing your title to "Hens won't lay eggs in nest" or something - you might get more people to chime in.