My chickens are jerks 😂

[Chickenlady1998]

My chickens are about 14/15 weeks. I think it’s only two of the 12, but someone keeps kicking the fake eggs out of the nesting boxes! I put them in there in hopes they’d see early on where the eggs go and that they hurt when they peck them. Should I pull them out? I’m going to place wood in front so it’s harder for them to just boot them out. Is this okay? Will they do it to their actual eggs?

 

[sourland]

Definitely enlarge the lip on the nest boxes. Yes, they may very well kick their actual eggs out of the boxes while scratching the bedding.

 

[3KillerBs]

POL pullets are crazy nest-wreckers.

Raise the lip on the boxes and have patience. Once their hormones settle down they should be fine.

 

[Theorrin]

Definitely enlarge the lip on the nest boxes. Yes, they may very well kick their actual eggs out of the boxes while scratching the bedding.

its's exactly why i use milk crates as nest boxes lol. scratch them out now you little jerks!

 

[Lacy Duckwing]

its's exactly why i use milk crates as nest boxes lol. scratch them out now you little jerks!

I tried milk crates once, and I couldn't get the hens to go in them at all. I put a wooden rabbit nesting box in the coop, and they were all fighting over it. I guess my birds were just picky.

 

[Ridgerunner]

That's one reason I want the nests open with fake eggs in them before they start to lay. If they are scratching the fake eggs or nesting material out it tells me to raise the lip. The other reason is that if they are going to sleep in the nests I want to know so I can fix that before they start to lay and I get poopy eggs.

Often pullets start looking for a good place to make a nest a week or more before they start to lay. Yours are still pretty young but those two may not be that far away form first egg. Good luck!

 

[5Australorpasaures]

Our Aussies just started laying and are kicking the decoys out also, even with the nesting material retaining board. I think they're embarrassed that their eggs are smaller than the decoys.