Laying eggs in the yard

[Lion67]

Some of our chickens are refusing to lay their eggs in the coop. We found out yesterday that at least one chicken had made a nest in the bushes and we found 21 eggs in that location. We found two more eggs a little ways away from that nest. How do we get them to lay in the coop because we have forty acres of wooded torn up land and they have free run right now. We're going to fence them in to a specific area but until then we need to keep track of where they are laying to prevent snakes from coming in close to the house. Help please

 

[hannahsflock]

I've had this issue many times before. What I've found helps, is to take the eggs and put them into the nest box. Then lock them in their coop and don't allow them out for a couple of days, just so they start getting the idea of laying inside the coop instead of outside.

Also take each hen and put her in the nest box with the eggs, so she can start getting it through her head that this is the place to lay. Then once they start using the boxes you can start letting them out into the yard again.

 

[Lion67]

That sounds like a great plan but we don't know which ones are doing it it cause they only recently hit their 4 1/2 month mark. Plus our coop isn't big enough to lock them all up for very long. We're working on building a newer bigger one. We also cut down the trees and bushes around where we found the nest (to try and see if there were more nests) so now we think they moved to a new location.... bloody chickens Lol

 

[GC-Raptor]

Make sure your coop is cool, all vents, windows open and coop should be in a shady area in the summer.
Put ceramic eggs or golf balls in nest boxes.
If you have a large coop, keep chickens locked in coop till 10 a.m. to 12 noon.
I have a small coop and let them out at 5 a.m. daily. I have a 500 square foot pen for 5 hens and I keep them in the pen until 2 hours before sunset, when I let them out to free range. Presently 6:25 p.m.
Most of my eggs are in the nest boxes. But I have 1 hen that lays in the pen 2 to 3 times a month. If I don't find 5 eggs in the nests, I search the pen. GC