Leghorns Patrolling Nest Boxes - Messing Up Other Hens

[jlwquilter]

Marti is in what we call the sun roost. We used it as a roost space previously but is now set up as a large nesting box. Several hens do use it - Cruella uses it all the time. Lily often uses it. And now that I think on it I’ve never seen Marti use the regular nest boxes in her short time laying - she’s a new layer too.

I’m Happy to have them spread the egg laying out!

 

[jlwquilter]

Success for Sicilia! Laid in the 3rd (yellow) box. That’s a golf ball on the left
In the yellow box. Ginger in the box and Daisy on top. Ginger and Daisy are BFFs.

DH is giving Sicilia good girl meal Worms! Lol! No favoritism here - lol!

 

[jlwquilter]

Ok now Isis pilled Ginger out and Ginger went immediately into the yellow box where she's laid before. Isis thinking about
Going into box she just forcibly emptied.

 

[jlwquilter]

Ginger immediately went into the yellow box. I didn’t realize Daisy was already in there. Good thing they are BFFs.

 

[jlwquilter]

That’s one full bucket of chicken!

 

[jlwquilter]

A pretty speckled egg from Marti in the sun roost. Good girl!

 

[jlwquilter]

Isis didn’t like the BFFs in the box so pecked them out. Neither laid. Ginger tried to go in another box but Isis said NO! Ginger is bawking.

I so want to put Isis in the sun roost! But fear it’ll just all happen again tomorrow.

Which circles me back to my original question. If I consistently put a hen in a nest box will she eventually think it’s the place For her to lay?

Ginger is now in the preferred box and Isis is in the yellow box and Daisy is on the floor bawking and deciding on her next move.

 

[coach723]

Well, I'm exhausted just from reading this! Some hens have favorite boxes, some don't. Are all of your boxes all together? You might try repositioning them, some on one side of the coop, and some on the other, or 3 different corners. That way access can't be blocked to all of them. Seeding boxes with fake eggs or golf balls may help also. They tend to like a 'used' box, so seeing an 'egg' inside makes them feel better about it. I put two golf balls in each nest box, much less fussing over favorite boxes. Maybe I missed it somewhere, but how many hens do you have and how many boxes? Maybe you need a few more?

 

[jlwquilter]

Isis is getting mean. She attacked Ginger in the box. I had it intervene. And after that Isis did it again and I intervened again. Ginger came out. Isis is in the yellow box even though she kicked Ginger out of the white box.

 

[jlwquilter]

Desperation lay. Think it’s from Ginger as Daisy is still
Trying to get into a box. And she’s stupidly looking into the box Isis is in. Omg.

I have 19 laying hens. 1 rooster. 3 are super new layers. 5 more are relatively new and have ‘calmed
Down’.

I have these 4 boxes in a row. Plus the large sun roost. Plus 2 more boxes in a full on chicken house in the run (that I got for free from a guy moving a few weeks ago - which has seen some sporadic but not consistent action).

And There’s a the nest box in the TSC prefab that was our very first chicken house. Petunia used to lay in there after the new boxes were introduced several weeks ago but she now uses the new boxes.

So Overall I have 4 very separate nesting areas with at least 2 boxes in each area.

Jeepers. Daisy is bold. She’s tried twice to go in with Isis. Not happening.

FYI. I don’t know why today is like this. I’ve spend a few random days in the coop watching them lay to get to know who is laying what. It was never as intense as today. I installed a camera the other day and put in the sd card yesterday. I’ll be able to see how often this kind of stuff is happening when I’m not here. Still don’t know how to ‘fix’ this.

Daisy took a lap around the run and is back in the preferred box. Isis is still in the yellow box.