laying eggs on roosting station

[anniepyanoe]

My girls are 24 weeks old. I have 4 easter eggers, 3 speckled sussex, 3 light brahamas, 3 buff orpingtons and 3 salmon favorelles. The easter eggers finally started laying, but the others, with the exception of one, have not yet. One of them keeps laying on the roosting station instead of the nesting boxes. The boxes are big enough and in a dark place and I keep decoy eggs in there so they can see that's where they should go. Any suggestions on how to prevent them from laying there? Also, is it unusual for them to be 6 months old and still not lay eggs?
Thank you!!

 

[FeatheredFriends&Horses2]

Can you please post a picture of both your nesting box and your roosting station? Also, it is a little unusual for them to be 6 months old and still not laying eggs, but unless you have lights in your coop, with the days getting shorter, they're not getting their 14 hours of daylight needed for production.

 

[anniepyanoe]

Can you please post a picture of both your nesting box and your roosting station? Also, it is a little unusual for them to be 6 months old and still not laying eggs, but unless you have lights in your coop, with the days getting shorter, they're not getting their 14 hours of daylight needed for production.

 

[anniepyanoe]

There are 5 boxes under the roosting platform and 3 more in the corner of the coop. I have 2 big trays under the 2 roosting bars for easy cleaning.

 

[Ridgerunner]

Any suggestions on how to prevent them from laying there?

A few different things could be going on. When they first start to lay many pullets have total control. The egg is formed perfectly (though usually small), they know where to lay, and they know where to lay. But occasionally it takes one a while to work the kinks out of its system. If they haven't figured out when to lay they may drop an egg overnight from the roosts. Most can usually tell when an egg is coming and go to a nest. But some don't seem to catch on immediately so they drop the egg wherever they may be, just walking around or perching on the roosts during the day. If either of these are what's going on they should get some control pretty soon. I don't know of anything to fix either of these other than patience. How many are doing that and when are they laying the eggs?

Some have total control. It's possible they have decided that that area is a safe place to make a nest. If the eggs are laid during the day and they are always in the same spot, that is their nest as far as they are concerned. That will take work. I made some of my nests so I could lock a hen in there if I wanted to. That's come in handy for different things.

The way I handle a pullet or hen laying where I don't want her to is to lock her in a nest until she lays when I catch her on that wrong nest. You may be able to just pick her up off of that nest but I usually have to use a fish net. Typically they lay the egg within 30 minutes of locking her in the nest but I had one take 3 hours. Usually I only have to do that once for her to get the message but that 3-hour hen took two consecutive days. She was not my favorite for different reasons. I'm retired so I can go down there several times a day to catch the laying. Mayne this weekend for you?

Is your roosting area set up where you can block it off for the day? If you can lock them out of that area that would force them to lay somewhere else. You might have to be down there pretty early to block it before they lay.

Also, is it unusual for them to be 6 months old and still not lay eggs?

No, not unusual. I've had pullets lay their first egg at 16 weeks, I've had some wait for nine months. I've had them lay their first egg the first week of December, about the shortest days of the year, and lay regularly the rest of the winter. I've had hens finish the molt and start laying in the middle of winter. I do not use extra lights to lengthen the days.

You've had a few that recently started. What does that tell you about how long the days have to be or when they can start? I've seen a lot of posts on here that EE's are among the last to start to lay. Which ones of yours were among the first? Be careful believing conventional wisdom. Basically they lay when they lay. That's frustrating and aggravating. I understand that, I had to wait nine months for some of mine once. It is quite possible more of yours will start laying pretty soon. It is also possible some will wait for the longer warmer days of spring.

Good luck!

 

[FeatheredFriends&Horses2]

Good advice from @Ridgerunner! One more thing I'd like to add... it looks like you are using 5 gallon buckets under the roosting platform for nest boxes. These may be too small. 5 gallon buckets are often 10x10 in while nesting boxes should be 12x12. For the three in the corner, how high are they above the ground? Chickens don't like to jump very high into a nesting box, after all, they are made to nest on the ground. You may want to add a ramp, this may encourage them to start laying there.

 

[anniepyanoe]

Thanks. Good advice. I'll measure the ones under the platform to make sure of the size as well as the ones in the corner. The three in the corner were used very successfully with my other chickens several years ago, so I just assumed they would work here. I'll check into that for sure.
Thank you!

Any suggestions on how to prevent them from laying there?

A few different things could be going on. When they first start to lay many pullets have total control. The egg is formed perfectly (though usually small), they know where to lay, and they know where to lay. But occasionally it takes one a while to work the kinks out of its system. If they haven't figured out when to lay they may drop an egg overnight from the roosts. Most can usually tell when an egg is coming and go to a nest. But some don't seem to catch on immediately so they drop the egg wherever they may be, just walking around or perching on the roosts during the day. If either of these are what's going on they should get some control pretty soon. I don't know of anything to fix either of these other than patience. How many are doing that and when are they laying the eggs?

Some have total control. It's possible they have decided that that area is a safe place to make a nest. If the eggs are laid during the day and they are always in the same spot, that is their nest as far as they are concerned. That will take work. I made some of my nests so I could lock a hen in there if I wanted to. That's come in handy for different things.

The way I handle a pullet or hen laying where I don't want her to is to lock her in a nest until she lays when I catch her on that wrong nest. You may be able to just pick her up off of that nest but I usually have to use a fish net. Typically they lay the egg within 30 minutes of locking her in the nest but I had one take 3 hours. Usually I only have to do that once for her to get the message but that 3-hour hen took two consecutive days. She was not my favorite for different reasons. I'm retired so I can go down there several times a day to catch the laying. Mayne this weekend for you?

Is your roosting area set up where you can block it off for the day? If you can lock them out of that area that would force them to lay somewhere else. You might have to be down there pretty early to block it before they lay.

Also, is it unusual for them to be 6 months old and still not lay eggs?

No, not unusual. I've had pullets lay their first egg at 16 weeks, I've had some wait for nine months. I've had them lay their first egg the first week of December, about the shortest days of the year, and lay regularly the rest of the winter. I've had hens finish the molt and start laying in the middle of winter. I do not use extra lights to lengthen the days.

You've had a few that recently started. What does that tell you about how long the days have to be or when they can start? I've seen a lot of posts on here that EE's are among the last to start to lay. Which ones of yours were among the first? Be careful believing conventional wisdom. Basically they lay when they lay. That's frustrating and aggravating. I understand that, I had to wait nine months for some of mine once. It is quite possible more of yours will start laying pretty soon. It is also possible some will wait for the longer warmer days of spring.

Good luck!
[!

Good advice from @Ridgerunner! One more thing I'd like to add... it looks like you are using 5 gallon buckets under the roosting platform for nest boxes. These may be too small. 5 gallon buckets are often 10x10 in while nesting boxes should be 12x12. For the three in the corner, how high are they above the ground? Chickens don't like to jump very high into a nesting box, after all, they are made to nest on the ground. You may want to add a ramp, this may encourage them to start laying there.

Actually, the boxes under the platform are 12x10. Too small??

 

[aart]

Actually, the boxes under the platform are 12x10. Too small??

I think so.

 

[Ridgerunner]

I once used a cat litter bucket as a nest. I stood it up at about a 45 degree angle. The top was 7-1/2" x 11-1/2". With it standing up and that small it did not work when a broody hen used it to hatch eggs. The chicks would climb up on her back and slide off. They'd miss the nest and fall about 4' to the coop floor. The chicks were fine, I just tossed them back in the nest. So that nest was not suitable for a broody to hatch in but it worked fine for hens to lay in. I retired it.

Growing up on a farm one of my chores was to collect the eggs. Most of those came from the hen house but some would hide a nest in the hay barn. Some of those nests were pretty tight, much smaller than 12" x 12".

Those nests in the corner have been used before. They are not too small to use this time. They do look bigger but they are available.

People come on this forum asking on size of nests and everything else. We all have different conditions and set-ups, different goals and management techniques. We don't know if those are for tiny bantams or a huge Jersey Giant. We don't know if they are enclosed or open top. We don't know if they are just for laying or maybe a hen may hatch in them. A 12" x 12" is big enough for any of that and if you cut a piece of plywood or an 8' long board into 12" pieces there is no waste. So 12" is usually recommended. I do that myself. That doesn't mean a smaller nest won't work for the vast majority of us, just that a 12" should work for pretty much all of us.

I don't think your problem has anything to do with your nests being too small. Chickens often like to lay where others are laying. My guess is that one of your pullets dropped an egg from the roost, probably at night but could have been while perching during the day, another one saw the egg there and thought it was a good place to lay. That's why we use fake eggs in the nests, to try to make the think another hen thinks it's a good nest.

 

[FeatheredFriends&Horses2]

I once used a cat litter bucket as a nest. I stood it up at about a 45 degree angle. The top was 7-1/2" x 11-1/2". With it standing up and that small it did not work when a broody hen used it to hatch eggs. The chicks would climb up on her back and slide off. They'd miss the nest and fall about 4' to the coop floor. The chicks were fine, I just tossed them back in the nest. So that nest was not suitable for a broody to hatch in but it worked fine for hens to lay in. I retired it.

Growing up on a farm one of my chores was to collect the eggs. Most of those came from the hen house but some would hide a nest in the hay barn. Some of those nests were pretty tight, much smaller than 12" x 12".

Those nests in the corner have been used before. They are not too small to use this time. They do look bigger but they are available.

People come on this forum asking on size of nests and everything else. We all have different conditions and set-ups, different goals and management techniques. We don't know if those are for tiny bantams or a huge Jersey Giant. We don't know if they are enclosed or open top. We don't know if they are just for laying or maybe a hen may hatch in them. A 12" x 12" is big enough for any of that and if you cut a piece of plywood or an 8' long board into 12" pieces there is no waste. So 12" is usually recommended. I do that myself. That doesn't mean a smaller nest won't work for the vast majority of us, just that a 12" should work for pretty much all of us.

I don't think your problem has anything to do with your nests being too small. Chickens often like to lay where others are laying. My guess is that one of your pullets dropped an egg from the roost, probably at night but could have been while perching during the day, another one saw the egg there and thought it was a good place to lay. That's why we use fake eggs in the nests, to try to make the think another hen thinks it's a good nest.

This is true and for the most part I would agree. I completely understand fitting your coop to your situation and not any general guidelines. One of my coops may look rather... unorthodox to some, but it works well for me. However @anniepyanoe stated that she has 3 light brahmas. I also have brahmas and as they can grow quite large, I'd definitely be looking at some larger boxes, even if it's just for in the future. I'd have a hard time visualizing some of my old, fat Brahma ladies squeezing comfortably into a smaller space. Looking at size might not completely solve any problems, or even be a current problem, but it can only help and may help prevent any future issues.