Someone help me please.

[melissaowens]

All my hens have decided they dont want to lay eggs in their nest anymore, they want to lay them on the ground. they have little nests built, they act like they are wanting to brood but im not sure, since they started this i have only gotten 1 or 2 eggs a day 3 if im lucky, i have 7 hens and one roo, my hens are about 8 or 9 months old. any answers?

i am clueless as to whats going on.

 

[bethandjoeync]

are they starting to moult? they say that they won't lay if they are starting to moult. maybe try a few golf balls in the nest boxes. they might not feel like they are safe anymore and the goft balls will help them realize that is where they should lay. but then again that could encourage them to go broody....... hmmmm dilema. hope someone else can help

 

[debilorrah]

Mine lay in the coop when they are disoriented, like when we started moving, they did that. Has anything changed around there? New birds?, chicks? New dog or cat? It doesn't seem to matter how many nesting boxes we have - they all lay in one nest, so try the golf ball thing.

 

[DDRanch]

I would pick up the eggs on the floor frequently so they don't get the idea that's what they should do. They are young, so maybe still learning, or as
debiraymond has suggested, something may have disturbed them.

 

[melissaowens]

well i built an addition to the coop seperated for my teenager chickens about a week ago, could this be why? my dogs dont get around then, we have a electric fence around it so neighbors dogs and our dogs dont bother them.

oh yeah, i put golf balls in there this mornin, i found an egg laying in the nest they made. i picked it up. i wouldnt mind one broody but all of them no.