Not laying in nesting boxes...

[roheryn]

I've got two bantams that are 1 yo and two EEs that just started laying at Easter (yay!) They free range all day but lay their eggs in the hen house. I didn't have designated egg boxes, and noticed they were getting a bit aggressive about the space, so I bought 2 crates and filled them with straw and a ceramic egg. The bantams hopped in right away, and I was seeing one blue egg every day, but not two. I thought maybe the new girls were trading spaces (its hard to tell the difference between their eggs, one is a little greener than the other...) The egg boxes have been in about 2 weeks now. The girls have figured out how to climb some trees and hop over the fences to get out of their run, so frequently I will find especially one of my EEs out, most every day. Just thought she was being adventurous, but tonight I was weeding and found a broken blue shell. So I poked around and found a huge nest with about 10 eggs in it under the jasmine bush! So, she has found her own nest... not what I want! They have about a quarter acre of open space, really more than enough, but Cinnamon has decided to do her own thing.

She is a new layer, but previously had been laying in the hen house. Now I worry, what if there are more eggs in their open space? Its up a pretty steep hill, and there are lots of low shrubby trees that protect them from hawks, so it is pretty hard for us to get to. And what an attractant for predators... free eggs just sitting around! I want her to go back the box obviously, but should I get more boxes? We have 2 more teen girls who are 3 months old, not laying and still not fully integrated with the flock (they have all been together for 4 weeks, just don't really hang out together) and I wonder if this is also causing issues. New boxes, new flock mates. The bantams are really bossy and aggressive to the others sometimes as well, so maybe one of them is hogging the boxes... We will have 6 laying hens soon, how many boxes should I have? The hen house is a two level, 3'x8' structure with separate rooms and feeding stations. They have access to it all the time. The upper run is not covered, so I cannot actually keep her from climbing those trees and jumping the fence... any advice?

 

[aart]

I want her to go back the box obviously, but should I get more boxes? We have 2 more teen girls who are 3 months old, not laying and still not fully integrated with the flock (they have all been together for 4 weeks, just don't really hang out together) and I wonder if this is also causing issues. New boxes, new flock mates. The bantams are really bossy and aggressive to the others sometimes as well, so maybe one of them is hogging the boxes... We will have 6 laying hens soon, how many boxes should I have? The hen house is a two level, 3'x8' structure with separate rooms and feeding stations. They have access to it all the time. The upper run is not covered, so I cannot actually keep her from climbing those trees and jumping the fence... any advice?

Confining birds to coop and run is the only way I know to break the habit of laying out in range area. Having a secure run is good for other things too, and doesn't mean you can't still free range birds most the time.

Younger birds(just added?) will cause upset and youngsters won't merge with flock until they start laying.
2-3 nests would be fine for 6 birds.
3x8 coop is small for 6 birds...and is probably part of the problem too.
A covered run would be ideal. Clipping wings might help.
Pics of coop and run might garner some specific suggestions.

 

[WindingRoad]

Hi all! I have 5 pullets that will be one year old at the end of April. 2 EEs and 3 SLW. They have all been laying great all winter. I feed them Purina Layer crumbles, oyster shell free choice, and once a week, they get a handful of mealworms. I have 3 nesting boxes that they have been happily sharing for months. Some days all eggs will be in one box, other days they will be in seperate boxes. For the past 2 weeks, one of my EE has been laying right outside the box. I didn't think anything of it at first, just figured the box was occupied when she needed to lay. But it's been an every day thing now. And today, my other EE laid outside the box! Is there any way to encourage them to use the boxes again? Nothing has changed in their coop, nobody is being mean to others. I'm just confused why the nesting boxes wouldn't be good enough all of a sudden. ETA that they have been free ranging while I was outside with them

I have 4 birds. 1 BO 1 ISA Brown. They lay early in the morning. I'm out there between 8-830. My 2 SLW pullets. Lay later in the day. They go back into the coop and lay when they have been outside free ranging. I will look up and count 3 birds. I have to remember to go check the coop and sure enough one of them will be in there singing. I don't know how I got so lucky.

 

[roheryn]

Thanks! I'm attaching photos of the run and the space where they hang out. The hen house is only used for sleeping and laying eggs, they are rarely in there otherwise so its definitely not overcrowded. I have a big kennel on the left that they use for shade or shelter in the rain, and I also use it as my "broody buster" when one decides she would like to have chicks. The upper level is where they sleep and lay, strangely the one who was wandering is the one in the box now, so clearly she knows what it is for

I have the upstairs divided into two sections. It was supposed to be for bantams and standards with a really small door dividing, but everyone likes to sleep in the small side, so I just go with it. There are windows that open so there is plenty of ventilation and the girls run up and down frequently, but I don't know why. The lower run in enclosed with netting as is the run up the hill (getting new fences installed this summer, yay!) but the upper 1/4 acre is open to the sky. I know I need to make my roosts higher, they currently just nestle in the shavings to sleep. I have space to add more nest boxes, maybe I should add another in the main room.

 

[D-Bar-B]

Huh, those look good.
Maybe she's just rebelling.
Might try fake eggs in all nests to spread the love.
....and might also block where they have chosen to lay with a bucket or something to discourage the use of that spot.

I have a fake egg in all 6 of my nesting boxes, and those silly girls will roll the fake egg out of the corner box and lay their eggs right in FRONT of the box. Not all the time, but it definitely perplexes me.

 

[MaryJanet]

I had a problem with a pullet laying eggs on the floor. I got a huge nest box and she started using it right away.

I think your nest boxes are already big enough though, so I'm not sure if my story helps, but I thought I'd mention just in case.

 

[tripletfeb]

Thanks for making this thread a featured thread! To update, my girls all started using the nesting boxes again, for awhile at least. But then the 2 EE's started laying outside the box again. Im perplexed but at least they are laying!