Can you get rid of the straw? They are creatures of habit so if they've made their nest, their instincts to lay there will be strong. I think you'll have to change things up quite a bit.
I've got sand in my coop. I use junk mail run through the shredder as nesting material then also put in a golf ball. They took right to it perhaps because the sand is so different from straw or hay like they seem to like and the paper is like straw/hay.
I only had one who laid outside of the nest box but she hadn't figured out that she was laying (she would walk across the yard and suddenly an egg would pop out). She's since figured it out and they all lay in the box reliably.
Also make sure the nest box is in a quiet and dark area. I never mess with or talk to them while they are in the nest box.
Also make sure their roost is comfortable. I have a 2x4 for mine. I had to "teach" them to use it by moving them to it every night (they had been trying to roost on the top of a wall and I didn't like where their poo landed).
I've got sand in my coop. I use junk mail run through the shredder as nesting material then also put in a golf ball. They took right to it perhaps because the sand is so different from straw or hay like they seem to like and the paper is like straw/hay.
I only had one who laid outside of the nest box but she hadn't figured out that she was laying (she would walk across the yard and suddenly an egg would pop out). She's since figured it out and they all lay in the box reliably.
Also make sure the nest box is in a quiet and dark area. I never mess with or talk to them while they are in the nest box.
Also make sure their roost is comfortable. I have a 2x4 for mine. I had to "teach" them to use it by moving them to it every night (they had been trying to roost on the top of a wall and I didn't like where their poo landed).
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