Laying in Hidden nest.

[Pelops]

I

have seven Hens and two Roosters. They're all 23 weeks old.

One hen started laying a few weeks ago in the nesting box. I'm sure some of the others are laying too, as I'm hearing the "egg song" about 4-5 times a day but as they free range, when one starts they all join in with the same song and I can't focus on who's laying or where the nest is.

There's a small overgrown wood, most of which I can't access, which they must be using.
Question is how do I solve it so they start using the nesting box?

Would confining them all in the coop for a week be enough to break the habit, as fencing off the wood is nigh impossible as it's beyond a partially collapsed stone wall, with stone scattered everywhere.

Suggestions please..?

 

[fluffycrow]

The egg song is a very poor name for this specific call.
Yes, hens will (sometimes) use it after they have laid an egg, but not to announce their egg laying, rather to announce their position, so that the rooster can come and bring them back to the group.

If you observe your chickens, you will find that sometimes a hen that has been left behind by the group will sound the call, and make the rooster come back for her.

In the wild, chicken groups travel large distances each day, and rarely stop to forage for long in the same place within their territory. When the hens go to nest, it’s natural to think that the group has moved on. The hen calls out to make the rooster aware of her location, so he can bring her to the group.

So, if you are hearing this multiple times a day, with more than one hen joining in, it might not just be a “I’ve laid an egg” call, but an escort call.

It is still very possible that some eggs might be laid outside. How you go about “fixing” that “problem” is up to you.

If you would prefer a less invasive approach, such as locking them up for a week or two to force them to lay in the coop, you can spend a day or two simply observing the group.

Keep track of the pullets that are in lay (some 23 week olds might not have started laying yet), and if/when they disappear from the group. If they do go into the wood alone, or with the company of a rooster, then they’ve probably got a nest.
Keep track of when during the day they go into the wood to lay.

After you’re pretty certain about the time, and the general area truly is not accessible, then you can keep that particular pullet locked for longer, until she has to lay and does so in the coop. Then you can let her out again. This has worked well here (though I have only done it if I am in desperate need of eggs, as most birds here are not broody prone, and tend to abandon wild nests within the fortnight of their creation), and I have not encountered any issues with the hen being outed from the group.

If even that is too invasive, you can let nature take its course completely. With a healthy predator load, the wild nest is likely to get predated on during the night, and due to the inexperience of your pullets, it’s very unlikely that whoever is laying out will want to sit on the nest.

Edit to add: along with the paragraph right above, simply leaving fake eggs in the coop nests might naturally encourage the pullets to lay there.

Edit two : I see YardMom has already commented about using eggs in the nests as “bait”, oops!

 

[Yardmom]

Yes, confining them can get them to reset where they are laying. Do you have eggs in the nest where you want them to lay?

 

[Bsmac]

Hello! Great advice from @fluffycrow

 

[Pelops]

Yes, confining them can get them to reset where they are laying. Do you have eggs in the nest where you want them to lay?

Thanks. Yes, there are a couple of plastic eggs in there on a sawdust bed.
I'm going to add straw on Friday as this may help.

As I said, the first started laying about 4 weeks ago and is using the box no problem but the others aren't. I'm just a bit worried if I confine them all for a week it may cause stress and bullying as there's no run.

I do have an electric fence which protects them from the Jackels and foxes (I lost my favourite rooster 3 weeks ago to a fox) but it's a sheep net and most of them can slip through the bottom.

Is there anything solution to this do you think? Could I line the bottom of the net with something that won't 'short' the net so they can't wander?

Sorry to be a pain, I'm just thinking out loud

 

[Pelops]

The egg song is a very poor name for this specific call.
Yes, hens will (sometimes) use it after they have laid an egg, but not to announce their egg laying, rather to announce their position, so that the rooster can come and bring them back to the group.

If you observe your chickens, you will find that sometimes a hen that has been left behind by the group will sound the call, and make the rooster come back for her.

In the wild, chicken groups travel large distances each day, and rarely stop to forage for long in the same place within their territory. When the hens go to nest, it’s natural to think that the group has moved on. The hen calls out to make the rooster aware of her location, so he can bring her to the group.

So, if you are hearing this multiple times a day, with more than one hen joining in, it might not just be a “I’ve laid an egg” call, but an escort call.

It is still very possible that some eggs might be laid outside. How you go about “fixing” that “problem” is up to you.

If you would prefer a less invasive approach, such as locking them up for a week or two to force them to lay in the coop, you can spend a day or two simply observing the group.

Keep track of the pullets that are in lay (some 23 week olds might not have started laying yet), and if/when they disappear from the group. If they do go into the wood alone, or with the company of a rooster, then they’ve probably got a nest.
Keep track of when during the day they go into the wood to lay.

After you’re pretty certain about the time, and the general area truly is not accessible, then you can keep that particular pullet locked for longer, until she has to lay and does so in the coop. Then you can let her out again. This has worked well here (though I have only done it if I am in desperate need of eggs, as most birds here are not broody prone, and tend to abandon wild nests within the fortnight of their creation), and I have not encountered any issues with the hen being outed from the group.

If even that is too invasive, you can let nature take its course completely. With a healthy predator load, the wild nest is likely to get predated on during the night, and due to the inexperience of your pullets, it’s very unlikely that whoever is laying out will want to sit on the nest.

Edit to add: along with the paragraph right above, simply leaving fake eggs in the coop nests might naturally encourage the pullets to lay there.

Edit two : I see YardMom has already commented about using eggs in the nests as “bait”, oops!

Wow, thank you so much for taking the time to respond. You've given me some wonderful advice.

Thanks also for correcting me about the 'egg song'. That info in itself is worth its weight in eggs!

I don't think I have any broody hens at the moment, at least laying ones, as they all come in at dusk before the automatic door closes.

I've decided to leave it a fortnight, as maybe I'm jumping the gun a little and expecting eggs when there are none.

From what I'm led to believe (though this may be wrong also) most chickens lay in the mornings. If so, I'll reset the automatic door and reduce roaming from 1pm till dark (they're normally up at sunrise), that should make it easier to find out what's happening and I can go from there.

Thanks again and vest wishes xx