Laying eggs on the floor, need ideas

[Fishman43]

I went with the deep litter method this winter and it seemed to work good although a few of my hens decided half way through to start laying eggs on the nice deep litter as apposed to the boxes. I have since removed the deep little for the spring cleanout, but they continue to lay in the same spot on the floor and now eggs are getting cracked not to mention dirty and harder to reach.

How can I get them back to laying in the boexes?

I thought about removing the solid floor and putting in wire (it is a raised coop on a chick tractor) to make it less comfortable to lay on the floor. Any other suggestions would be greatly apreciated!

Thanks

 

[Ceilismom]

Try putting a nest box in the spot where they are laying. Once they are at least laying in "a" nesting box, then maybe you can gradually move it to the location where you want them to deposit the eggs. It might also help to put some golf balls or fake eggs into the next boxes (assuming you haven't already done that) to encourage them to lay eggs where you want them to.

 

[rebelcowboysnb]

Yep, go to the golf course an buy a bucket of balls, take them an put them in the nests. More is better. Also fixes egg eating if you have enough.

 

[Ridgerunner]

That's not a real easy one. Hens will lay where they think is a safe place and they are creatures of habit. Just a shadow on the floor may give them an idea the area is protected.

Since it sounds like most of your hens are laying in the boxes, this might not help or you might be doing it anyway, but I strongly suggest keeping a fake egg in the nests. These can be golf balls, plastic Easter eggs (best to fill them with sand or something heavy and glue or tape then shut), or wooden or ceramic eggs. They tend to want to lay where others are laying, but this is a tendency, not a law of nature.

At different times, I have had three lay in a regular place on the floor. I tried putting things in the way or messing up that area so it did not look like a nest, but they just kept laying next to that area. None of them moved to the nests like they should have. Even showing them a poster of Kentcky Fried didn't phase them.

I'm retired so I am around most of the time. I also built some of my nests so I could lock a hen in there if I wanted to. When I caught a hen in her nest on the floor, I locked her in the nest box until she laid, then let her out. For two of them, they laid the egg within a half hour and went back to that nest from there on out. The other one took about three hours to lay her egg and was back on her nest on the floor the next day. We went through the routine again and she then got the message.

I like the idea of putting a nest there and moving the nest. Or leave the nest there permanently. It just might work!!!

Good luck with yours!!!

 

[TomGallopavo]

Mine do it every once in a while because I have 12 hens and two boxes. They get crowded so they drop them on the floor...which is no big deal in my case. Do you see them lined up to get in the box? Are there two in a box? Do you need more boxes?