Need some help

[Joshischicken]

Hey all i need some help right now i have 13 hens who are laying i have a milk crate up on the wall with wood shavings in it and 10 other next boxes but all 13 always lay in that one milk crate why is this? i mean i have tried the fake eggs and everything and nothing works they all only ever lay in that on crate its driving me nuts any advice would be good thank you.

 

[Napalongtail]

Take that crate out! Don't bother with the fake eggs just take one days eggs and spread them about 2-3 per other box. It has to look and smell like the other. Good luck

 

[keljonma]

We have 16 girls laying now. We have 8 nests: 6 are wooden boxes, made by my hubby. The other 2 weren't meant to be nest boxes. They are corner hay/feed bins in horse stalls in our barn. We don't have horses, so keep bedding in there for nests. All the nests are used equally.

We used golf balls in the nests before all our girls were laying, so they would all get the idea to lay in the nests. After they were all laying, we removed the golf balls.

Is the crate in a darker corner than the rest of the nests? Maybe they are seeking more privacy. You could try putting some curtains on the other nest boxes to give them more privacy.

Is the crate higher or lower than the rest of the nests? Maybe the girls think the other 10 nest boxes are too high or too low.