I was completely thrilled when I found our first egg last Saturday. My Austolorp has given us an egg every=other-day, but the problem is she digs out two spots in the coop floor ( in the pine shavings) and lays in one - not in the nest box. I am worried that the others will peck her eggs, or that they will break since she moves all the bedding away, laying on the bare floor. Today's egg was cracked, and no wonder. I think the others are getting close to laying - will they model her behavior and plop them in the middle of the coop floor? I have put decoys in the nest boxes but they don't seem interested. Advice from the more experienced is appreciated.
My EE started laying at 21 weeks. (Her sisters were lazy
) The next age group was 16 weeks. The EE layed her first egg on the coop floor in the corner. Her next egg was in another corner...under the droppings board and near the feeder! Talk about traffic zone!! Luckily she did not have any that cracked. She continued to lay in this location till the next age girls reached 21 weeks...One day I had 4 checking out the nest boxes (which had been installed for the previous 2 months!)...that same day I had 4 lay in the nest boxes...and the EE still layed on the coop floor
But the next day, my EE put her pretty little egg in the box just like the other girls
. I now have (I think!) 8 layers (they're still young and don't lay every day. The most eggs I've had on one day was 6) out of 15 birds. (The youngest are 19 weeks). Hopefully now that all the older ones are laying in the boxes, they will continue. 
