nesting box and egglaying

[flockmarket]

okay so a few weeks ago my nesting box completely rotted away, so egglaying completely stopped. but i put in a new box today, so im wondering if the hens would have stopped laying simply because we replaced their nesting box with a plastic, white, box.

 

[ranchhand]

I'd be looking over, under and behind everything to find where they were stashing the eggs during that time.

 

[KDK1]

Quote:
Ditto... they're laying somewhere!

 

[ChickenScratchin]

Quote:
Ditto... they're laying somewhere!

x3 They're sneaky lil buggers

 

[flockmarket]

haha, well thats what ill have to do tommorrow! i found my previous stash months after we thought they stopped laying. grr

 

[KDK1]

Quote:
So this has already happened once before?

 

[gavinandallison]

We wondered why our egg production had gone down until I looked behind the coop door and found 21 eggs! Now they all lay behind the door and ignore the nesting area.

 

[Judy]

The only thing I can count on mine to do is lay in the coop. They have 7 nests for 14 hens (just the way things ended up) including varying sizes and privacy / darkness, so it's not like they have no choices. Yesterday all the eggs were in 2 nests, but during a typical week I always find some in a corner or even out on the coop floor. I gave up fighting it a long time ago; I just freshen the shavings, keep a few golf balls around, and collect them where I find them. I have had a hen lay and collect eggs outside the coop, twice as I recall, but they were broodies. Lately the broodies just move them around in the coop.

 

[flockmarket]

well i noticed the golfball i put in their makeshift nest went missing, maybe they moved it to there "secret" nest, unfortunately i can't find it. maybe ill have to go loking outside.