In and Out of the Nest box

[baysidechicks]

Hi, two of my four pullets are laying, the Golden Comet/RSL and the Lakenvelder. The two Polish girls are not even close, based on their lack of wattles and the narrowness of their pelvic bones. The RSL has been a daily layer since August 30 and lays in one of the two nest boxes every morning. She's so reliable. But she's also turned into a Mean Girl and one of the Polish pullets spends most of her day hiding from her...in one of the nest boxes. So the Lakenvelder, who outranks the Polish girl, is still working out this whole egg-laying thing and is only 50-50 on laying in the nest box. Half the time I find the egg elsewhere in the run (there's no coop per se, I'm in Florida so there's a coop "level" with their roost and nest boxes which is 32 square feet, and their run is 64 square feet). I've seen the Lakenvelder get all anxious and go in and out of the nest box when the Polish pullet isn't in it, but I'm wondering if at other times the Polish girl is keeping her out of the nest box and forcing her to lay elsewhere? The Polish pullet is quite excitable and will usually go squawking away if anyone even looks cross eyed at her (she constantly reminds me of Nathan Lane's character Albert in The Birdcage). Will the Lakenvelder assert herself more as she becomes more familiar with the egg laying business? She's not a daily layer, every other day usually and sometimes two days in a row. Smallish pretty pinkly tinted eggs with large yolks for the egg size.

 

[rosemarythyme]

Any photos of the nest boxes? If there aren't any, some curtains may help, to provide privacy and make it a little more difficult for one bird to bully another in the nest.

 

[baysidechicks]

It's hot here so that's why there are ventilation holes in the nest boxes.

 

[One Lucky Momma]

What a lovely, light and airy habitat!

I’m about as new at this chicken business as you are so can‘t really offer you authoritative advice, but there are lots of kind, very experienced folks on BYC who will chime in.

For what it’s worth, I can tell you that in a mixed flock you get to see all kinds of “coming of age” scenarios. My 9 hens are spread out over 4 breeds, and while within the breeds there are a lot of similarities, each breed group is very different. One hen had a no-shell issue for a while, one group kept a joint nest in the tractor shed, the two Crevecoeurs (we call them the French Sisters) haven’t started laying at all. They’re all different and all wonderful. I won’t tell you not to worry, because you will anyway, but trust that they’ll all work it out for themselves in good time.

 

[CluckerFamily]

What do you put in the nesting boxes for bedding?

 

[baysidechicks]

I wanted something different in the nest boxes so I put shredded paper from my shredder in there. It seems to work well for them.