My Hens have started to lay in the hay mound, How to get them layin back in coop?

[Joe.G]

Hi, my hens have started to lay in my hay mound, this started about a week ago, how do I get them laying back in the coop?

 

[Ridgerunner]

I have had some that don't want to lay in the nests. When I find one hiding a nest, I lock the entire flock in the coop and run for about a week and take all the eggs out of the hidden nest. If possible, mess up the hidden nest so it does not look like a nest, but that is usually not possible. Sometimes, after a week, the hen has learned where to lay. Sometimes, I have to repeat this.

When I have a hen that is regularly laying on the coop floor instead of in a nest I do it differently. This is where she lays in a regular place consistently, not just where one drops an occasional accident egg outside the nest box. I'm home during the day, so when I catch her on her nest on the floor, I lock her in the nest until she lays. This usually takes about a half hour, but I had one that took three hours. Usually it only takes doing this once to retrain them, but I've occasionally had to do it twice.

If you must had one that was laying in the hay mound, you could possible lock her in a nest when you catch her. But if you are not around when they are laying or there are several, locking them in the run is probably your best option.

I'm a big believer of keeping a fake egg in the nests permanently. I am convinced this helps, though with chickens there are no guarantees. I use golf balls.

Good luck!

 

[Joe.G]

Since my Property boarders a Golf course I have plenty of golf balls, I find tehm in my woods and fields all of the time.