Started laying outside nesting boxes

[sadies0111]

I have 6 young hens, about 7 months old. They all started laying a couple months ago, and used the nesting boxes exclusively. Last week I cleaned the coop (I only clean 2x/year as I use the deep litter method). Within a couple days of having new bedding, 1 started laying in the corner of the coop rather than the nesting box. Now they have all followed, and non are using the nesting boxes...all laying in the same corner. I have a small coop, and it's hard to reach the corner to retrieve the egss. How do I get them to start using the nesting boxes again? Why did they stop using the nesting box?

 

[so lucky]

My girls started using the corner of their coop (right under the roost!) when I changed out the nest box liners. At the same time, I also put up "curtains" over the nest boxes, to block some light. Of course that totally freaked them out, being chickens. So I blocked off their new corner nesting area with a big black plastic flower pot, upside down. I put an egg in one of the nest boxes, to encourage them. They soon began laying in the right place, after fussing at me for about an hour. Hope this helps.