Startered Laying but Laying all over? Will this change?

[firemedic_2040]

HI,

I about 1/2 of our 16 Buff Oph's are laying now but of the 5-6 eggs we are getting each day, 2 are nicely left in the laying boxes and 1 is on the floor near teh coop door, another on the highest perch/poop board and the rest are found outside in the run. I have 5 boxes for 16 chickens so my question is will they eventually all lay in teh boxes or am I going to have to play hide and seek forever?

Thanks

Brian

 

[mtnhens4]

Do you have golf balls in your nest boxes? sometimes you need to show them where to lay and when they see the balls they think that "someone layed their egg here, it must be a good place" and then they follow. Maybe that will help

 

[firemedic_2040]

HI, yes I do have 1 gold ball in there, I switch it around to a different box from time to time.

B

 

[firemedic_2040]

Anyone have any experience with this, just wondering.

 

[Fred's Hens]

Don't let them out of the coop until later in the day. This often helps. Since most hens lay before noon, you'll get most of them "indoors" anyhow, and most will eventually use the nest boxes. Laying is very social. Don't be surprised to find they almost all lay in the Alpha's chosen box and if you see 2 or 3 in the box together? Also, normal social event. I find it best to work with the chicken's natural social tendencies.

 

[ki4got]

I tried putting fake eggs in but my eggs are so small, and the fakes large... they pitched the fake eggs out. So I started leaving 2 eggs in each nest... I dotted them with a sharpie marker on the fat end to tell old from new, and I'm just rotating them out about every 2-3 weeks with newer eggs. some of the hens haven't started laying yet, but yesterday my d'anvers hen laid her first, and one of my brahmas today, both in the nest...

 

[firemedic_2040]

OK, thanks I am willing to try anything, to keep from playing hide and seek!

 

[MIKE555444]

I would "bait" each nest with a golf ball and then close them up for a week to get them in the habit of laying in the nest then start letting them into the run again after a week or so.

 

[Hiram]

Will putting the golf ball in the nest make them start laying?

 

[firemedic_2040]

I don't think so it just shows them where they should be laying.