Laying eggs in my shrubs

[ChickenLady2012]

I have three hens (2 rir, 1 australorp) all three of them have just recently started to lay in a long shrub/ bush in front of my house, my kids found the secret nest after we hadn't gotten any eggs in the nesting box for a few days... My girls have been really regular about laying in there boxes.... My hens free range all day and roost in there hen house at night, is this normal for my hens to start laying away from there nesting boxes? Should I be alarmed? We have been collecting the eggs from the bush and the next day they go right back to the shrub to lay e
Another one even after we've collected...
Confussed chicken owner

 

[faithsstuff]

I don't know if it's 'normal' but mine do the same. They are laying under a shrub in their run. I wonder if it has something to do with the heat or just feeling more protected surrounded by shrubbery

 

[donrae]

Chickens laid eggs in bushes thousands of years before they laid eggs in nest boxes. That's a lot of instinct to try to overcome!

I've read about folks who free range where the hens consistently lay in the nest box, but it was never the case for me. When the girls ranged, we simply checked the nests we knew of. I usually left a "marker" egg there, I found if I took all the eggs the hen was less likely to return to that nest. If I left an egg there, she'd come back and lay more. If production dropped off, we looked around for more nests. With younger kids, it was great fun!

Some folks leave the birds confined to the coop/run until late am, as a rule most birds seem to lay in the morning. They stay confined until they've laid for the day then are let out to range.

 

[Woodcox Acre]

One of my chickens has recently started laying in my stand of lily's. I found two eggs there today. When I let the girls out today one went right to that spot and as soon as she left the nest spot another promptly went in and aslo laid there. Its been happening more since i started letting them out earlier. I think I'll start keeping them in until two or three oclock and see if that will curb it.

 

[devora]

Normal.

I lock mine in if it happens b/c there are far too many places for them to lay on our property. It only takes a few days.

If they lay outside, they get reconditioned. Yup, it's like 1984 around here.