Laying everywhere but the nest box!

[Montana-Hens]

Well you all know about my 42 week 5 day wait for a laying Chantecler.

Here is her next challenge. She will spend hours (2-3) sitting on the nest box....no egg. Then she will walk out of the coop and around the yard and she will drop an egg and keep on going. (I don't know what she thinks the egg is a "turd") She does not return to the coop at that point.

Other ladies will come in and out of the coop and lay while she is on her mission and she will stay on until her appointed time, sometimes another hour after the last hen lays.

I thought it was me disturbing her causing this behavior, but have taken to watching her from the house with bioloculars and it happens if I am out there are or not...

Open to suggestions. She appears to know what a nest box is for, but doesn't seem to know the difference of the things that might come out of her hind end!!

 

[AK_Button_Mama]

Quote:
OMG

I bet if you have neighbors they are wondering what your doing!!!!!

how long has she been laying? if she is a new layer it might be that she doesnt know the signs yet that she is about to lay. my three pullets were like that the first few eggs were on te ground but they figured out that the nest box was where they go! you might need to give her a fake egg in her nest so she recognizes that this is for eggs... give her time it will coem to her

 

[rooster0209]

My girls have laid one or two eggs in the nesting box. They seem to love the corner of the coop where I propped up a board.

 

[dave_Cash69]

Quote:
OMG

I bet if you have neighbors they are wondering what your doing!!!!!

how long has she been laying? if she is a new layer it might be that she doesnt know the signs yet that she is about to lay. my three pullets were like that the first few eggs were on te ground but they figured out that the nest box was where they go! you might need to give her a fake egg in her nest so she recognizes that this is for eggs... give her time it will coem to her

golfballs work too

 

[Montana-Hens]

I put the golf balls back in after the second egg on the ground, thinking she need some of that first time help.

She spent 4 hours on the next box today and then went out of the coop and laid her egg!!! I watched her. She walked down the gangplank for her nice nest box that all the other hens find acceptable and then once she got the the bottom in the bright sunny, windy day immediately squatted and laid!

So much for the dark corner thing. I have an exhibitionst. I am worried that laying it out in the yard is going to creat an egg eating problem. Tomorrow I have to go back to work after 4 days home and they are on their own.