Not Laying in Nesting Box

[sarahcookhill]

Our girls just moved into their new coop about a week ago. We have two nesting boxes right now because we think only two of the four hens are laying. Up until Wednesday they were laying eggs in the nesting boxes but as of Wednesday there were no eggs to be seen. I flipped the shavings last evening and found no eggs then this morning when our daughter turned them out of the coop, she found SIX eggs on the floor of the coop under the roost! What is the deal? Maybe they really like their new house and so now everyone is laying but why not in the nesting boxes???

 

[Chick15]

You could try putting fake eggs to encourage them to lay in the nest box.

 

[sarahcookhill]

When they first moved into the coop we took a couple of eggs from the previous day and put them in the nesting boxes and they seemed to catch on right away. Maybe the other two are laying now and just haven't figured it out yet!

 

[They Call Me Pete]

I ditched nesting box when they started laying in a corner. It seemed to move from day to day but threw away nesting box.

 

[sarahcookhill]

For the longest time, they laid eggs underneath a side porch by the house. Maybe they just like to mix it up a little to keep me guessing

 

[triplepurpose]

Some breeds (older breeds) have an instinct not to lay their eggs in the same spot if they are being taken (by you, or by any other animal). This is, obviously, a rather intelligent thing for a bird to do, from the point of view of survival instincts! Some people have told me, especially when you find the nest of a free-ranging hen, to always leave at least one egg on the nest so she won't abandon it. In the case of your nest boxes, a fake egg or a golf ball, avacado pit or something similar should help equally well to encourage them to lay where you want them to. Mine sometimes lay on the ground too though, and to be honest, I've never worried about it that much because it doesn't really make any difference to me as long as the eggs are staying relatively clean and dry. For a while I had no nest boxes and mine just layed on the ground under little A-frame shelters. They are ground-nesting birds anyway

Good luck!