New Nesting Box used irregularly, younger of 3 hens only uses coop floor

[Sammamish-BYCs]

We just redesigned our nesting box to take it out of the coop since there's not enough room. Our top hen uses the new nesting box regularly, the middle hen uses it most of the time, but our younger hen who's been laying for 3 months has only ever used the coop floor, even when a temporary box was placed on the coop floor, she would lay next to it. We have always placed a fake egg in the new nesting box. The youngest/lowest hen seems afraid of the box when I put her inside it. She leaves with haste. The older hens, who had a nesting box in the old coop (before we rebuilt it since it was too small) have taken to the new nesting boxes fairly well. I don't like eggs being laid in the poop filled coop floor which is the ground. We have placed sticks over the floor to make it less inviting, but she kicks them out of the way to make her nest. We have made a temporary design of our nesting box with plans to build wood around it if it works.

Should I block off the coop during the day?

 

[FlyingNunFarm]

The other hens could be stopping the youngest from using the box. You could try putting her own eggs in it. My girls are pretty good about where they lay but I swear they prefer to use a box that already has an egg in it. Sometimes a fake egg doesn't count. (Chickens )

As for under the roosts where you don't want her to lay you could put welded wire or hardware cloth at an angle. They will walk on it but not be able to sit and lay an egg. I suggest the welded wire with larger openings. Hopefully poop will fall through.

 

[Sammamish-BYCs]

We put in the wire under the roosts which was effective in preventing nesting there. However, our young hen started laying from the roosts and then the eggs would crack open when they landed on the wire. I spent one day out in the yard taking this hen off the roost 4 times, holding her to calm her down and then putting her directly in the nesting box. She stayed for short amounts of time, but she never laid that day or the next 2 days. Is the nesting box too scary for her?

 

[FlyingNunFarm]

Maybe she likes a more open area. She's got me stumped.
I guess that would be what I would try next. A larger more roomy box.
After that I think I'd admit defeat and put a poop board closer under the roosts and let her lay her eggs on the ground. LOL

 

[aart]

I can't quite figure where this nest is in the pen...
.....is that the door behind her in this pic?

You might try putting a perch about 8" in front of the nest entrance....
....and adding some bedding other than that crumpled paper.