laying on ground in middle of coop

[nsmith83083]

M EE layed her fires egg today, but she did it right in the middle of the coop, you can tell it got stepped on and pushed around, cause it was all dirty. How do I teach her to go into the nest to lay?

 

[CrazyTalk]

Give her time - the first ones seem to be all over the place (sometimes they even lay them at night while roosting) If the nests are safe, enclosed, etc, she'll figure it out.

 

[nsmith83083]

She was in the nest all night for a couple of nights so my other hen would stay off the roost as well, so I have been placing them on there roost at night so they don't make a habit of sleeping in the nest. But my RIR has only been laying for a week and every one has been in the nest at the same time every morning. But my EE is just slow I guess. Lol.

 

[song of joy]

It took my EE pullet about 10 days before she laid an egg in the nest box. The others were in scattered locations in the coop.

 

[mtarbox20]

I have 3 RIRs. They've been laying for about 2 months. At first everybody laid in the nesting box, but for the past week somebody has been laying right under the roost. The egg gets all poopy and nasty. I think it's because someone else has been sleeping in the nest box when she wants to lay. I had them all sleeping in nest box but thought I cured them of that by blocking it off at night when I want them on the roost. This is making me crazed. ****** if you do ****** if you don't.

Any suggestions will be welcomed!

Maggie in CT

 

[chickengeorgeto]

Sometimes it seems that newly laying pullets lay eggs like Native Americans planted corn. You know, one for the black bird, one for the crow, one for the cutworm. and one to grow into a chicken. Do remember however that hens if kept in a mostly natural manner prefer too lay on or at least near the ground. Hens in nature lay large clutches of eggs before incubation begins. Fifteen or more eggs is a typical clutch. If all her eggs were laid in a tree top nest like your hen was for instance a Jay Bird, few of her eggs would ever hatch.

If for instance your coop and nests have a heavy investigation of Red or nighttime blood sucking mites, then it is possible that hens won't even sleep on your roost poles or even inside the coop. A disposable pail with diesel fuel or used motor oil with a healthy shot of Pyrethrum added and a paint brush to paint this on the interior of your coop or pen will kill Red Mites in the places where they live, sleep, noon, and reproduce and do so for a very long time. The idea is not to kill these mites per say, but to deny them a home in the first place. This is the old "An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure" doctrine.

If your boxes are as high or higher than your roost poles you're going to have more trouble with hens sleeping in your boxes. At least that is how I see it.

 

[mtarbox20]

Sometimes it seems that newly laying pullets lay eggs like Native Americans planted corn. You know, one for the black bird, one for the crow, one for the cutworm. and one to grow into a chicken. Do remember however that hens if kept in a mostly natural manner prefer too lay on or at least near the ground. Hens in nature lay large clutches of eggs before incubation begins. Fifteen or more eggs is a typical clutch. If all her eggs were laid in a tree top nest like your hen was for instance a Jay Bird, few of her eggs would ever hatch.

If for instance your coop and nests have a heavy investigation of Red or nighttime blood sucking mites, then it is possible that hens won't even sleep on your roost poles or even inside the coop. A disposable pail with diesel fuel or used motor oil with a healthy shot of Pyrethrum added and a paint brush to paint this on the interior of your coop or pen will kill Red Mites in the places where they live, sleep, noon, and reproduce and do so for a very long time. The idea is not to kill these mites per say, but to deny them a home in the first place. This is the old "An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure" doctrine.

If your boxes are as high or higher than your roost poles you're going to have more trouble with hens sleeping in your boxes. At least that is how I see it.

We don't have any mites on the roost poles. They seem to want to go into the coop at night. I have no problem getting them in. Don't even have to lure them with meal worms any more. They start out the night all roosting, but some mornings there is poop in the nest box so I know someone is moving during the night. I think that has more to do with it than anything. I just don't get why she would switch from laying in the box to laying on the floor of the coop.

BTW- I keep them in the coop/run until I get home and then they free range for about 4-5 hrs per day. The coop is big enough about 16 square feet. I have one nest box with a lip that is only about 2 inches off the coop floor. The roost is about 18" off the coop floor. I have pine shavings in the nest box and bare wood on the coop floor.

Looking forward to advice on how to get her to lay in nest box.

Maggie in CT

 

[Rowsdower]

She'll figure it out on her own. It might not be THE nestbox that she decides upon, but she will certainly decide that a more natural nest is better. I have 7 nestboxes for 30 hens in my big coop. They all lay in the furthest corner of the coop, on the floor. I'm somewhat okay with this as it is sort of out of the way and they stay clean, but I have to go inside of the coop to get them.

 

[chickengeorgeto]

We don't have any mites on the roost poles. They seem to want to go into the coop at night. I have no problem getting them in. Don't even have to lure them with meal worms any more. They start out the night all roosting, but some mornings there is poop in the nest box so I know someone is moving during the night. I think that has more to do with it than anything. I just don't get why she would switch from laying in the box to laying on the floor of the coop.

BTW- I keep them in the coop/run until I get home and then they free range for about 4-5 hrs per day. The coop is big enough about 16 square feet. I have one nest box with a lip that is only about 2 inches off the coop floor. The roost is about 18" off the coop floor. I have pine shavings in the nest box and bare wood on the coop floor.

Looking forward to advice on how to get her to lay in nest box.

Maggie in CT

Using a square pointed shovel cut out a thick chunk (+ or - 3") of green turf... grass and all. Lay the turf inside of the nest box, grass side down. Wet this turf down well. Next put in a good handful of wheat straw or grass hay and sort of kind of shape it into a cup or nest shape. Believe me when I say that hens know how they want their nests made up better than you or I. If you got'um add some nest eggs. Now your hens have natural seeming nests with a dirt floor and you have you eggs in a nest box. That's what I call a win-win. Repost or PM me with the results.

She'll figure it out on her own. It might not be THE nestbox that she decides upon, but she will certainly decide that a more natural nest is better. I have 7 nestboxes for 30 hens in my big coop. They all lay in the furthest corner of the coop, on the floor. I'm somewhat okay with this as it is sort of out of the way and they stay clean, but I have to go inside of the coop to get them.

In my experience wood chips have oils in them that reduce the hatchability of chicken eggs. Because turpentine was my parents childhood go to medicine when I got sick, I don't think that the oils in pine shavings will harm you.

I can however assure you that no self respecting hen relocates herself in the middle of the night.

Make sure that all of your hen's nests have a good strong top or roof with about a 3/4 to 1 inch gap between the walls and the roof with a wide overhang on the back and on each side.