Removed the decoy eggs and our GLW panicked

[m1marin]

Our 3 hens have been laying daily for about 8-10 weeks now. We started with the decoy eggs in the nesting boxes to help them learn where to lay. Only thing is, I never took the decoy eggs out - just left them in the nesting box out of laziness I suppose.

Well... last night I took them out. When Henrietta, our GLW, went to the nesting boxes this morning she had what I can only describe as a little panic attack. She started crying and running around the yard looking in every corner and under every bush. I quietly slipped the decoy eggs back in the nesting box and when she saw them she seemed to settle down. Did we accidentally make her dependent on the decoy eggs? I'm worried that we will have to leave them for her.

 

[PeepersMama]

Don't worry about it. Sometimes my chickens will chase each other out of boxes just because there aren't any eggs in them. Then they sit down and realize that there aren't any eggs, and then the cycle repeats

The rotten boogers...
If they just started laying, you can leave the fake ones in there until they get more used to it (til like, february). Or if you catch one of them in the box, you can pull the eggs out from under her so she gets used to sitting in a nest withohut eggs.
If you think that she might start laying eggs outside the coop, then leave the fake ones in there. It really isn't that big of a deal for her to want to sit on an egg