Nesting Box

[clmk74]

I am a first time chicken owner, I have 5 hens, they have been averaging about 4 eggs a day. I love my girls and probably spoil them a little. When they started laying the made themselves a nesting spot in the coop and that's where they all lay. So I haven't really bothered with using a nesting box, now their egg production has slowed down to a average of 2 eggs a day. Should I try putting in a nesting box and see if that helps or not worry about it? I also just read about adding cayenne pepper to cornmeal and feeding it to them, so I am going to try that also.

 

[Ol Grey Mare]

I am a first time chicken owner, I have 5 hens, they have been averaging about 4 eggs a day. I love my girls and probably spoil them a little. When they started laying the made themselves a nesting spot in the coop and that's where they all lay. So I haven't really bothered with using a nesting box, now their egg production has slowed down to a average of 2 eggs a day. Should I try putting in a nesting box and see if that helps or not worry about it? I also just read about adding cayenne pepper to cornmeal and feeding it to them, so I am going to try that also.

Hi and welcome.
How old are your birds? What are they currently being fed? Where are you located (country is fine - just getting a feel for part of world and current season)? Are they free ranging or confined in a coop/run 24/7? What breed(s) do you have? Have there recently been any changes for your birds - seasonal shift, birds added or removed, any stressors such as a predatory incident, construction or other disruption, etc?
Lack of a nesting box is not really a factor in production - but the questions above are a start to a list of things that *can* effect production. What benefit was it you read the cornmeal and cayenne pepper would offer your flock?

 

[Kelsie2290]

Hello and Welcome To BYC! There is a nice thread covering a lot of reasons hens might not be laying https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/423023/why-arent-my-chickens-laying-here-are-your-answers Using a nesting "spot" instead of a nesting box shouldn't affect egg production as such, could they be hiding eggs somewhere else, or could something be eating/stealing the eggs?. Do you know if only two or three are laying or if more are laying and they are just not laying many eggs a week? How old are your girls, could one or more be molting? You might want to give them a good going over to be sure that one or more of them isn't hiding something, here is a nice health checklist for chickens www.communitychickens.com/2012/07/9-point-comb-to-toe-chicken-check-up.html#.U1h5DqJW_bM

 

[TwoCrows]

Hello there and welcome to BYC!

If you do put in more nesting boxes, use fake eggs to lure the hens into the new boxes. Chickens like to lay where others have laid their eggs. But as stated above, make sure they are not secretly laying them somewhere else or something is stealing or eating these eggs.

Good luck and welcome to our flock!

 

[Mountain Peeps]

Welcome to BYC! Please make yourself at home and we are here to help.

X2 fake eggs shows hens where to lay.

 

[clmk74]

I live in Ky, right now our temp is running 80's durning the day 60's at night. We did a couple of weeks of fall type temps. I have 2 Rhode Island Reds, 1 Amerancana, 1 Barred Rock and 1 Leg horn. All my girls will be two around October and I have had them for a year in October. I have them in a big run that they stay in all the time and a large coop they can go in and out at time. My Leg Horn is normally my best layer she would lay everyday even in the winter but for the past two weeks she has maybe laid 5 eggs. I feed them Layer Pellets everyday, scratch feed twice a week, and fresh fruits and veggies 2-3 times a week. Their favorite is watermelon, lettuce and Cummbers. At first when my Leg Horn slowed down laying figured it was the crazy swing in temps we've had but that temperament is common for my Amerancana and Barred Rock not my Leg Horn. I'm just at a loss right now.

 

[TwoCrows]

Chickens can take breaks from laying. I have found that my flock doesn't lay as well in the summer as they do in the spring or fall. Any temps over 75 is getting warm for hens. It is possible they are still warmer than they would like and are not laying as much because of it.

 

[clmk74]

I read on here but not sure how to post it, that adding cayenne pepper to corn meal would help reboot their egg production and would help get rid of parisites they may have. Today I collected 4 eggs all layed but Leg Horn.

 

[TwoCrows]

If they have any ailments or even worms, the egg production will go down. You might want worm them as well as worms draw from the birds health and they can slow or stop laying completely. Any bacterial or viral infections can slow or stop egg production too.

 

[BayBay Peepers]

Welcome to BYC!

You've received some good advice/info here. Good luck with your first flock.