Newbie questions: laying locations and roosting

[beefybillybob]

Hi guys!

I finished up my coop and run last sunday and bought 5 point of lay ISA browns, they've settled in well for the most part.

However there are 2 minor issues.

One is that each day I've been getting about 2-4 eggs, but almost without fail one has been laid on the ground. So far I have had 14 eggs, 4 have been laid on the ground and 10 in the nest boxes. I suspect it's the same hen laying in the wrong spot each time as it's always the same color, all the other seem to have no problems using the boxes. Any ideas on how to correct this? At this stage I'm just hoping it catches on eventually but any tips would be neat!

The other is roosting, the hens were bought from a barn environment and do not have roosting experience, the first night none of them figured out how to get to the roosts. The 2nd night only 1 managed to find a spot on the roost on it's own. Each night I check on them and put the stragglers on the roosts manually. For next few nights between 4-5 managed to find their way onto the roost. I thought they had it figured out until I went to check on them tonight and only 1 was using the roost, the others were all huddled on the platform next to the nesting boxes for some reason (this platform is adjacent to the roosts, and somewhat of a thoroughfare at roosting time, they need to walk over it to access the roosts. I moved them but I'm worried this will be a recurring problem, it is much more convenient to clean up after them when they nest on the roosts.

Anyway apart from those small issues everything has been great! They seem active and friendly, scratching all day and being nice to one another.

Thanks a million for any help you can give me!

 

[Ridgerunner]

Welcome!

Glad you are here!

I had your problem with a hen laying on the floor instead of in the nest. Two separate hens at two different times. When I caught one of them laying on the floor, I locked her in the nest for about a half hour, until she had laid the egg. It took one time to change one's habits, twice for the other one.

The fake eggs do help, but not with those two. I had fake eggs in the nest and those two still laid on the floor. And with your other pullets laying in the nests, there are often going to be eggs already in the nest when your problem child is ready to lay. She just got in a bad habit and she needs to be broken from that habit.

I had one that laid in the floor next to a fake egg when that fake egg got kicked out of the nest, but that hen went back to the nest when I put the fake egg back in the nest. I'm convinced fake eggs help, even if they are not fool-proof.

Good luck! It can be frustrating.