Nesting box question

[DarkhorseFarmer]

So we started getting eggs about a week and a half ago and we are now getting 5-7 eggs a day. We have 16 chickens including 1 rooster. Half are not of laying age yet.

We have 4 nesting boxes in the coop about 12 or 18 inches off the ground (can't remember exactly). The boxes have been in there for about a week and we still are getting eggs all over the floor. Not one egg in the boxes yet. We have even tried leaving golf balls In the boxes.

My question is, are there any other strategies we should be considering? I'll add some pictures momentarily.

 

[junebuggena]

And the question is...?

 

[DarkhorseFarmer]

Sorry, I had some phone issues and it posted before I finished typing. Still trying to upload the pictures from my phone.

 

[ConPollos]

I'm no expert, but hang out with your girls between 6 AM and 1 PM so you can see how they behave when they're going to lay an egg, which might happen right away or hours later. When you notice egg laying clues gently place them in a nesting box, and let them go in and out or just sit there. Just keep doing that.

My girls turned up their nose
..er, beaks at the nice roomy nest boxes I offered them, and they only like to use Tidy Cat kitty litter buckets. They want the snug fit, and there's plenty of room in there, but not enough room to stand all the way up and poop. This pic was taken before I sliced the lid flap off with an exacto knife just leaving the 3" red lip to hold the shavings in.

 

[junebuggena]

It takes time for them to figure everything out. I have girls that have been laying regularly for several weeks now, and I still sometimes find an egg under their spot on the roost. I have a few who will lay any place other than the nest boxes if given a chance. I literally have to keep them shut in the coop every morning until I get at least 5 eggs. They aren't very happy about it, but it's better than finding a pile of eggs in the middle of a blackberry patch again. Having at least two golf balls per nest seems to work better than only one. Generally, the more 'eggs' in a nest, the safer that nest seems to them.

 

[ConPollos]

It takes time for them to figure everything out. I have girls that have been laying regularly for several weeks now, and I still sometimes find an egg under their spot on the roost. I have a few who will lay any place other than the nest boxes if given a chance. I literally have to keep them shut in the coop every morning until I get at least 5 eggs. They aren't very happy about it, but it's better than finding a pile of eggs in the middle of a blackberry patch again. Having at least two golf balls per nest seems to work better than only one. Generally, the more 'eggs' in a nest, the safer that nest seems to them.

Ditto, I don't let mine out of the coop until 1:00 PM when most of their eggs have been laid. And in the afternoon they're good about going back in the coop to lay any extras in their Tidy Cat boxes.

 

[DarkhorseFarmer]

What do you suggest if I'm gone from 7:45am to 5:30pm M-F? I suppose an auto chicken door? I haven't invested in one yet. I'm going to need some time for my wife to be sold on that idea...

Ditto, I don't let mine out of the coop until 1:00 PM when most of their eggs have been laid. And in the afternoon they're good about going back in the coop to lay any extras in their Tidy Cat boxes.

 

[junebuggena]

You can 'coop' train your newer lays on the weekend. After a couple days of laying in the boxes, they should be fine to be let back out on Monday morning.

 

[DarkhorseFarmer]

Here is a picture of the inside of my coop. It's 10x10 and the roosting bars are about 4.5 to 5 feet at the highest point

This is how I have been finding most of the eggs. With a few stragglers here and there...

 

[ConPollos]

Here is a picture of the inside of my coop. It's 10x10 and the roosting bars are about 4.5 to 5 feet at the highest point

This is how I have been finding most of the eggs. With a few stragglers here and there...

Put a nesting box with shavings in it right where they lay those eggs. Try a Tidy Cat bucket.