How to get one hen to lay in nesting box?

[Mvan42]

I have 16 chickens 15 hens. Most are laying now (8are new to laying). I have one hard headed hen who wants to lay in the sand (just put wood chips in it until I can get more sand) that is under their roost. (I don’t know what everyone calls it but I have poo catching sand boxes for easier cleaning).

Any way I have 6 nesting boxes for the girls and most lay in only one box. So there are plenty of choices for a nesting box. I need to figure out who is doing it first. Anyone know what I can do to get her to lay in the right place... we have ceramic eggs in a few of the boxes it hasn’t helped.

 

[sunny_bellyboo]

I would lock her in the coop for part of a day and block off the sand box. Remove any real eggs so she can't break them. Or make the sand pit as not comfortable as possible, and add extra bedding to the nesting boxes.

 

[DobieLover]

I have 16 chickens 15 hens. Most are laying now (8are new to laying). I have one hard headed hen who wants to lay in the sand (just put wood chips in it until I can get more sand) that is under their roost. (I don’t know what everyone calls it but I have poo catching sand boxes for easier cleaning).

Any way I have 6 nesting boxes for the girls and most lay in only one box. So there are plenty of choices for a nesting box. I need to figure out who is doing it first. Anyone know what I can do to get her to lay in the right place... we have ceramic eggs in a few of the boxes it hasn’t helped.

Is she laying on the poop board or is she dropping her egg at night during roost time? If you are finding them on the board in the morning, she is dropping them off the roost at night which is common with new layers who don't yet really understand what is going on with this whole egg laying business.
If she is nesting on the poop boards and you are finding the eggs during the day and you can see a wallow of sand around the egg from her body, that is a different matter.

 

[Mvan42]

She is laying during the day. Below is a pic similar to what my roost look like. It’s the box under the roost. That’s not mine I got that from online I didn’t want to run out to take a pic right now.. lol

 

[DobieLover]

She is laying during the day. Below is a pic similar to what my roost look like. It’s the box under the roost. That’s not mine I got that from online I didn’t want to run out to take a pic right now.. lol
View attachment 2032726

But you will have to take a picture of your set up including the nest boxes so we can understand better what may be causing her not to use your nest boxes.
Is she low ranking on the pecking order?
How long has she been laying?
What breed is she and what breed are the other layers?
Have they all been raised together?

 

[Mvan42]

I will get pics later. Not sure which one is doing it. Only one. They are all under 2 years old some not quite a year old.. as for breeds I am thinking it’s either one of my lavender Orpingtons (5), I have on black Orpington, and a light brahama. Those are all under a year old. My others 2 Plymouth Rock, 1 rir, and three I am not sure what breed...

 

[Mvan42]

She has been laying in there for about a month that I know of. They are my sons and that’s when he said something. Setting up a trail camera today to figure out which one it is

 

[DobieLover]

She has been laying in there for about a month that I know of. They are my sons and that’s when he said something. Setting up a trail camera today to figure out which one it is

You will get more information from the trail camera than just identifying the hen that is laying out of the nest box.

 

[Ridgerunner]

Setting up a trail camera today to figure out which one it is

Good. It's easier when you know what you are dealing with. I'm mainly posting so I get notified when you come back with the camera results.

 

[Mvan42]

I caught the guilty party right after she laid her egg. I put her and the egg in a nest box and gave her a lecture on how she is supposed to lay in the nesting box... lol. Didn’t get time to take pics today. We were building a fence for the goats...