Really? You're gonna lay your eggs here?

[mrsbos]

I have 3 EEs, 2 of which just started laying. I have the 1st layer, Touhou, trained to lay in the nest box. She started by laying on the coop floor and in other random places in the yard. Afterwards I put a hard boiled egg in the nest box (now it has a golf ball in it because apparently they ate the hard boiled egg!) and she USUALLY lays in the nest. Just the other day, I found an egg ON TOP OF THE TRAMPOLINE (not in use during the winter). I figured out it was my pullet Chickie, because I had already collected Touhou's egg that morning. And then today, my daughter reported Chickie missing. We franctically searched the whole yard, over the fences, in the window wells and couldn't find her on this rainy, blustery day. Then I happened to look on the trampoline, and found her wedged under the enclosure netting--which is taken down during the winter--snuggled next to a nerf football, with a freshly laid egg!

Here is a pic of her chosen nesting area (after I got her and the egg down)

That crazy chicken! I just assumed she would follow Touhou's lead and lay in the nest box right at the get go. I joked to my friends that the chickens were jumping on the trampoline and an egg just bounced out of Chickie! I guess I could keep her locked up for a day--but they really do BEGAWK like crazy to be let out of the coop/run early each morning.

 

[LarryPQ]

I bet that trampoline gets nice and toasty (comparatively) after being in the sun all day. I think your pullet was just enjoying the warm bum and *oops* she had to lay.

Mine will do that too. They get all snug and too lazy to go back to the nesting box. Silly chickens.

 

[chkn]

I had one come up on our back porch and lay on top of some patio furniture we'd pulled in for the winter. I was sitting at the other end of the porch on the phone talking to my brother. He's a chicken man and he got a chuckle when I told him what I thought she was up to. Sure enough she dropped one there!

 

[mgw]

If we could only think like chickens, the stuff they do wouldn't seem so odd LOL!