Most likely location of the first egg???

[hatchaholic]

My girls are 19 weeks old, and I'm thinking at least a few should start laying anytime now. (Red combs, face, and wattles..) We have a coop with lots of nesting boxes filled with hay, just waiting for the first egg.

My question is this...What are the chances that they will actually lay in the nesting box at first? We let them out of the coop in the morning, and they spend most of the day in a fenced yard, about 1/4 acres (maybe a little less.)

Where did your chicken lay the first egg? And, if it was not in the nesting box, when/how did they finally get it right??

 

[DouglasPeeps]

Our first egg was found on the floor in our coop right in front of the nesting boxes.

The next 2 were found outside in the run. If think that for about a month I would find 1 egg on the floor every other day. The rest were laid in the nesting boxes. My chickens have been laying since the end of June and it is very rare to find an egg anywhere but in the nesting boxes at this point.

Hope this helps!

BTW, I did have golf balls in our nesting boxes to encourage the chickens to lay their eggs there.

 

[donnaIL]

everyone of them layed them on the floor. be careful when walking in/around the coop. They all layed their second and etc. eggs in the plastic milk crates that serve as nest boxes.

maybe they don't realize what is happening? JMO donna

 

[orbirdman]

we were curious about this also. i havent finished the coop and run. my wife found 8 eggs under a large rose bush. the first hard shelled ones we got. the first couple were like leather. i built a temporary nest box and have been getting 2-3 eggs every other day out of it. we free range the birds for now.

 

[chick_newbie]

Mine started to lay about 3 weeks ago and have all been laid in the nesting boxes. Although I was starting to wonder since I had gotten 2 brown eggs and then nothing from her until today again.

 

[cackle]

So far the ones I have laying are using the nesting boxes. Since one of the girls started laying 2 weeeks before her sisters I was looking everywhere for hidden eggs.

Most i have had in 1 day was 5 but they were all in the boxes.

 

[derby]

Our first two eggs were laid at the top of the kids sliding board

Once I figured out what time she was laying, I kept her cooped up until she laid it. Now she always goes back in the coop to lay it in the nesting box.

I do leave a golf ball in the nesting box to "point it out to them". When she settles down on the nest to lay, she is always careful to roll the golf ball under her as well.

Derby

 

[JohnL11935]

Quote:
Can't say enough about those fake eggs. Placing a few in their nest boxs will hopefully provide the hint.

 

[hatchaholic]

Thanks for all of the info. I've put golf balls in a few of the nests, hoping they will get the hint when they start to lay. But, I have been going on egg hunts every afternoon, just to be sure!! I'd hate to miss my first egg...

 

[PotterWatch]

Mine have all been laid in nest boxes except for the one girl who didn't have access to a nestbox.