I think chickens are hiding eggs. Help!

[thebulg]

Since August our chickens have laid in the nesting box. We obviously saw a decrease in production over the winter.we've had a couple of days with 2 eggs, but yesterday and today, nothing.

The problem is, yesterday I heard an egg song being sung, and today I went out to check and there was a chicken in the nesting box, nesting. But 3 hours later, no egg.

Where are some common places to look for eggs? They free range around a quarter of an acre, with a lot of boxwoods.

 

[azygous]

Think like a hen. You want a nice, dim, quiet spot with cover. Look on the ground, as well as in elevated, box-type containers.

Be prepared to find a pile of eggs when you discover the hidden nest. When one hen lays an egg, other hens are much more likely to lay their eggs there also. For this reason, you need to discover these spots and keep the eggs picked up

Far better would be to re-imprint on them where to lay eggs. They might benefit from a couple of days being cooped up to force them to start using the nest boxes again.

 

[thebulg]

I found two! One was cracked, in the barn on the floor. I'm not sure which egg it was, but I think it was today's. After I saw her on the nest box, I came out and gave them their feed and I think she may have left. The other one was buried in the nest box. I think there's a decent chance I will end up finding more, and I definitely think I need to do some work re-establishing where to go. And be vigilant the next few days or weeks. Thank you!

 

[Acornewell]

I too often find duck or chicken eggs in the weirdest places around here.