laying outside the laying box

[catbish]

for the past 2 days and once before i have found 1 egg just outside the box. the boxes have plenty of bedding. is somebody getting lazy? do you suppose her "favorite" box was occupied so she dropped it close as possible? just curious. ( we have 3 each cuckoo marans and barred rocks )

 

[daver]

Sometimes I'll find one or two outside the nest box. Don't know why but I find it curious.

 

[audioguy]

We have had the same problem since they started laying. Sometimes they lay in the boxes, and other times the exact opposite corner of the coop. They will make a "nest" anywhere in the coop, but mostly they lay either in the nest box or the other corner.
I tried using golf balls in the nest box and they sometime will use it.
I also tried to block the other corner in the coop with a brick and they just lay in front of it. Might have to totally block it off with a milk crate and see it that works.

 

[JodyJo]

all of mine are now laying in the boxes, except one Australorp, she always lays under the roost in the corner...its out of the way, so I don't fight with her to put her in a nest box....odd girl!

 

[johnsons-r-us]

I'm no help here as mine are just getting the hang of laying IN the boxes. Out of the boxes has been the "rule" with the exception of a very good BR girl who has always layed in the nest box. Yesterday we had 4 in the next boxes...a record for us!

I figure as long as it's not outside under the deck or on the cement (found one of those too, a good egg no cracks) I'm Ok with them just laying in the coop

 

[jpsbcfc]

we have only one nest box and sometimes find eggs outside it. i think they are kicked out by other hens tho because sometimes there are 6 eggs sitting in the one nest box ( 6 hens in that shed)

 

[Marcymom3]

We have four nest boxes for eight pullets. Their favorite seems to be the #1 box and I always find at least 4 eggs in it. There have been a couple of times that I have found an egg right outside that one. Do you think that they lay it there when that box is full? Why don't they go to one of the empty boxes? Strange...now I'm trying to think like a chicken. hahah

 

[featherfriendlyinIowa52]

OK, how bout this for a possibility. My Yorkies have their "pee pad" in the laundry room, but sometimes, their butts hang over the edge and miss the pee pad by a couple of inches. Maybe the hen just has her butt facing the wrong way. Not much help as there would be no solution if that's the case. Of course, if the eggs end up on the opposite side of the coop, you may have a projectile layer!