Need some help with weird chicken egg laying behavior!

[stephaniej2004]

We have 5 hens, and have been getting exactly 2 eggs a day for about 10 days now, both in the same nesting box. Now all of a sudden, we are getting one egg a day, and it is being laid on the ground in the run! We are totally confused. We did have to rehome a rooster a couple of days ago. Could that be affecting their behavior and egg laying? They have also been spending alot more time in their coop.

 

[kellysmall87]

Hens lay anywhere... Mine lay in the nest box one day, under a bush the next, on the cold hard yard the day after. If they are free ranging your garden then they could have laid the 'missing' egg anywhere... or maybe with the darker nights, colder temps, disturbed flock (getting rid of a roo) could halt the egg laying or change their patterns to one every other day. My advice is check the garden. Broodier breeds like my silkies will build a nest before laying but breeds that have had their broodiness bred out of them like my warren will lay anywhere.

 

[stephaniej2004]

Okay, will they go back to normal after some time?

 

[kellysmall87]

Honestly, I don't know. They seem to lay where they see fit. Give it a few weeks and see if they go back to normal after the departure of the roo. If you want to encourage nest box laying then you could place golf balls or dummy eggs in there to encourage them.