I've been doing this chicken thing for a little over two years now. Five of my hens were dropping their eggs where they were supposed to, and putting themselves up at night... Yes, everything was just fine until a few months ago, around the start of summer. I introduced a rooster, and they all lost their minds for some reason. I saw less and less eggs, and more free ranging. They were going to bed very late! Sometimes I would catch them roaming the yard as late as 9:00! It wasn't long before I had to start buying grocery store eggs. They stopped putting themselves up at night, and insisted on venturing into the woods to do their laying in private!
I've asked for advice on this before, and I've certainly followed it as best I can but with very poor results. I've tried the fake eggs, I've tried making their nests darker, elevating them more, lowering them, locking them up... I can't take it anymore! My girls lay late in the morning, so I can no longer keep them penned up until they lay, as I have to leave earlier than that every morning and don't get home until 2:00 or 3:00.
How can I get them to stay in their coop until they lay their eggs, without me having to lock them up all day? Last time I tried that, they got really angry at me and went on egg strike for a whole month! Please help me!
I've asked for advice on this before, and I've certainly followed it as best I can but with very poor results. I've tried the fake eggs, I've tried making their nests darker, elevating them more, lowering them, locking them up... I can't take it anymore! My girls lay late in the morning, so I can no longer keep them penned up until they lay, as I have to leave earlier than that every morning and don't get home until 2:00 or 3:00.
How can I get them to stay in their coop until they lay their eggs, without me having to lock them up all day? Last time I tried that, they got really angry at me and went on egg strike for a whole month! Please help me!
