Not laying in nesting box in deep litter coop

[halfdozenflock]

Hi all. I know there have been a lot of posts on here about chickens not laying in their nesting boxes, but I couldn't find any that explicitly mention use of the deep litter method in their coop, so posting this in case others using that method have had similar experiences. A couple of my pullets just started laying while I was out of town for a week. During that time, they picked two different corners of the coop, making a nice little nest in the deep litter. Since I've been back, I've put fake and real eggs in the actual nesting boxes (which are about 8-10 inches above the top of the litter) and also placed empty 5 gallon buckets in the corners where they made their nests to obstruct them from laying there. So you can imagine my surprise when I peeked in today to find that one of my ladies was able to push the bucket over and away from the corner so that she could lay another egg there.

Does anyone have any other ideas I could try? Since they could have been laying in this space for a week, I am concerned that they might have really locked in on it as their preferred nesting spot. Thanks!

 

[DobieLover]

Please post pictures of your nest boxes.
More than likely the floor of the coop is much more comfortable and enticing to them. You have to make the nest boxes more enticing than the floor of the coop.

 

[Ridgerunner]

I don't think this has anything to do with the deep litter, they make nests in many different areas and on different materials. They might lay on bare shelves, in flower pots, or on a lawn mower seat. It might have helped if you had the fake eggs in the nests before they started but there is no guarantee of that. I think most of us have had these kinds of problems.

So what can you do?

What is wrong with where they are laying now? Can you accept that as a nest or maybe put something in that spot to act as a nest? It would not work for mine, it is either under the roost so the nest would get pooped on or I could not easily get to it. Some people on this forum have solved the problem by accepting where they are laying, even putting a nest box there.

Can you make your nests so you can lock a chicken in there? I usually solve this problem by catching a hen when she is on her nest and locking her in the real nest until she lays the egg. That usually takes about a half hour but can go longer. That usually involves chasing her with a fishing net to catch her but I don't mind if she does not consider the nest she wants to use to be that safe.

Good luck!

 

[halfdozenflock]

Thanks for both of your responses. Here's a photo of the nesting boxes plus one of the corners they have made into the nest. It won't work for this corner to be their nest, since the eggs are getting a fair amount of poop on them. I could potentially put something to block the entrance to the nesting box to lock them in temporarily, but would I have to do that with all of my chickens individually, or if one starts laying in there, should they all follow? Thanks.

 

[Ridgerunner]

would I have to do that with all of my chickens individually, or if one starts laying in there, should they all follow?

How many nests and how many total chickens do you have? The way I read your posts you only have two laying now but you want nests open in case new ones start. The way I read it those two chose different corners. If you have enough nests for the others you can try both pullets on the same day. Or try one a day.

Will they all follow? The first two did not, but the next ones might. You never know with living animals.

 

[halfdozenflock]

How many nests and how many total chickens do you have? The way I read your posts you only have two laying now but you want nests open in case new ones start. The way I read it those two chose different corners. If you have enough nests for the others you can try both pullets on the same day. Or try one a day.

Will they all follow? The first two did not, but the next ones might. You never know with living animals.

I believe I have just two laying so far based on the number of eggs and evidence I've seen of them hanging out in the coop during the day all of a sudden. I have six chickens total and two nesting boxing. There are two different corners that have been selected. I've pulled back the curtains and have introduced them to the nesting boxes, although I have not locked them in yet. I want to see if that combined with blocking their corners works. Thanks for these ideas.