i somehow acquired 2 runaways and i have questions. please help

[pollipazzi]

he looks more like a cabbage than a sea monster

 

[pollipazzi]

last few days for the school kids behind us. they just set up a big bouncy castle behind the wall right behind the coop! lol! i hope it's the normal amount of screaming, or the chickens will ba-gawk them into next week.

 

[pollipazzi]

this is new.
and cute.
snoozing with the heads tucked.

and this one cause they think they're cool.

 

[pollipazzi]

@RoyalChick when you said you had an old cabinet you use for nesting boxes, are the boxes on different levels? or do they use one level?

 

[RoyalChick]

@RoyalChick when you said you had an old cabinet you use for nesting boxes, are the boxes on different levels? or do they use one level?

It is two levels. The floor of the cabinet and one shelf.
There are three doors and I put washing-up bowls behind each door. So that is six nest bowls they could choose from.
The chickens come I. From holes in the back and I take eggs by opening the cabinet door.
I have no idea how they decide where to lay their eggs. For months the top left has been the only one used. Suddenly today they switched to bottom right.
The only sure thing is that they all pick the same place as each other. And although it is a tight squeeze they are happy to double up!

 

[pollipazzi]

It is two levels. The floor of the cabinet and one shelf.
There are three doors and I put washing-up bowls behind each door. So that is six nest bowls they could choose from.
The chickens come I. From holes in the back and I take eggs by opening the cabinet door.
I have no idea how they decide where to lay their eggs. For months the top left has been the only one used. Suddenly today they switched to bottom right.
The only sure thing is that they all pick the same place as each other. And although it is a tight squeeze they are happy to double up!
View attachment 4154752

how cute!
ok thank you! that's good to know.
himself keeps talking about going to the farm show and getting 2 more bantams. well, he said one, but i explained that would be difficult, and they might not even have bantams there. regardless, the coop would have to change. he's saying to draw one and we'll build it, i was thinking of doing 4 nestboxes on one side so it wouldn't take up too much more width space, and raising the coop higher off the ground so there's more room underneath. my worry was if we got new ones, would they just all go to the top ones. and will thelma and louise even share or accept new ones? i am skeptical. and also terrified. lol!

 

[RoyalChick]

how cute!
ok thank you! that's good to know.
himself keeps talking about going to the farm show and getting 2 more bantams. well, he said one, but i explained that would be difficult, and they might not even have bantams there. regardless, the coop would have to change. he's saying to draw one and we'll build it, i was thinking of doing 4 nestboxes on one side so it wouldn't take up too much more width space, and raising the coop higher off the ground so there's more room underneath. my worry was if we got new ones, would they just all go to the top ones. and will thelma and louise even share or accept new ones? i am skeptical. and also terrified. lol!

Each Spring I do remind my ladies where to lay their eggs by putting a fake egg in a couple of the boxes. So far it has mainly worked with only the occasional egg in a random place.

 

[pollipazzi]

fake eggs saved my life!