i have three hens who've been laying for about 3 weeks. #1 started laying in her box from day 1. #2 laid outside the box for about a week then changed her mind and lays in the same box as the other. #3 insists on laying outside the box. our coop is constructed for easy access to the boxes and it's difficult to reach in to where #3 is laying. any suggestions on how to get #3 to lay in the box?
I've got about 10 hens of varying breeds and plenty of nesting box sites in our barn. However, the girls like to play hide and seek with their eggs, I pretty much know where all their spots are, so I still get the eggs, but since they are completely free range, I think that must have a bearing on the haphazard laying program they've installed for themselves. I think you'd have to confine them in a fairly small space with the nesting boxes the only logical place for them to lay.
