Hmmm - when this happens here, I give them a nestbox where they want to lay - is this possible in your location? I know you said you have peaky crabs and creatures, maybe that is why they won’t lay in there anymore…?
It wouldn't be a good idea as it is next to the carpark- and full sun. Funny enough- the next day-
they started laying in the nest box again with no changes. They still come up to the front door and make their egg song after they lay. Almost like saying '
go see what we did!'
It makes us crack up as it calls us to duty to ensure they followed instructions and deposited in the right bank.
The crabs live in the ground, and yes—the chickens absolutely hate them. There are hundreds out every day, but none have ever made it up the ramp or into the coop or nest boxes. Hermit crabs are extremely food-motivated; their antennae are packed with sensory receptors that detect food and draw them out of the soil. Since they’re omnivorous, the smell of protein from the chicken feed is impossible for them to resist.
They’re especially attracted when the feed is damp—which I do intentionally once a day with the vegetables and fruit scraps. We go through dry spells here, and there’s no standing water, so the added moisture alone is enough to draw them out, along with the smell. I add moisture because there’s an ice cube buried at the bottom, so it provides hydration, food,
and a cooling effect. The chickens finish it within about ten minutes, and just minutes later the hermit crabs start emerging—like zombies rising from a graveyard. Ironically, despite how driven they are by moisture, hermit crabs can easily drown in even a small amount of standing water but still need to drink. They are, without question, fascinatingly annoying creatures.
My thought was—maybe one of the young cockerels finally decided to step up. We’ve just recently noticed them spending more time around each other, with noticeably less fighting. So the flock dynamics rearranged (finally).
