Laying outside the coop

[Monroe758]

I have 7 Hens. I have never had a problem with them laying outside the coop. All of a sudden today they all laid outside of coop all over the yard!
Any reason why? Suggestions?

 

[chickenpatch]

Look around for any predators or snakes.

And make sure the nest boxes are clean, they may have seen a snake in the boxes and so they laid outside.
Or the bedding in the boxes could be rotten and infested, and irritating for the hens to sit on.

If they do it again tomorow let us know

 

[Monroe758]

Thanks. I keep sand in coop their nesting boxes(pine) are pristine. They never poop in them. I may add more shavings to the box.

 

[Monroe758]

So this morning I added more shavings...most of the hens laid in nesting boxes..2 still laid in yard under brush we just removed from trees.

 

[Monroe758]

Has anyone experienced this

 

[aart]

They probably had an argument and are acting out like jr high school girls.

Seriously....Pecking orders and daily laying cycles can change throwing the status quo out of sync, they'll readjust.

 

[Ridgerunner]

I have not experienced where all the hens all of a sudden one day laid outside all over. I have on rare occasions had one hen start laying outside the coop when she had been laying in the coop but that was in a hidden nest. I’m not sure why she did that but a month or so later one did go broody. Maybe she was looking for a hidden nest to make a clutch and hatch some chicks. But it was all of yours, not just one.

I’ll ask the silly question. Were they accidentally locked out of the coop and away from the nests? That can happen.

I don’t know what happened. Either they could not get to their regular nests because of some physical barrier or some critter or something they were afraid of was in there and they did not want to face it to lay their eggs. It would not have to be a critter. It could be something strange that they are not used to, especially if it was something moving. Was a piece of plastic flapping in a window? If none of them laid in there it would likely not be a critter because they lay at different times of the day. Even if some were frightened early by a critter, it would probably have left before the late layers were due to lay.

Did they all go on the coop to sleep as normal? If something was scaring them it might have carried over to roosting.

Do you have anyone around that likes to play practical jokes on you?

I’ll admit that one sounds strange. I don’t know what happened.

 

[toulon1]

I couldn't figure out why my production was so low. It turns out 2 of my 3 were laying a clutch in a patch of lillies. There were 8 eggs there. Here's my question, it has been raining here and mid 70's, do you think the eggs are still safe to ear

 

[chickenpatch]

Eggs usually last quite a while.

I'd say they are safe to eat but you can still check...
- Crack the egg open and decide yourself
- Fill up a bowl of water and put the eggs in, if they float to the top they aren't edible, if they sink or kind of bob up and down in the middle then they should be fine

Just don't eat those eggs raw just in case