The bedding won't last a day!

[Justinseaworthy]

Hello all! I have been a LONG time stalker but have never really posted much...(seem to always find the answer and don't have to ask!) But I'm a bit stumped on this one...

We got 6 chicks from our local TS back in late April and just within the last week or so, we started finding a few eggs in the coop! So I uncovered the nesting boxes and added some hay and we waited....the next morning I go to check on them and I notice hay was all over the run. Look inside and they pushed just about all of it out of the boxes and into the coop and run. Didn't think anything of it and added more....until about the 5th or 6th time having to add hay! Added more last night after work and this morning found 2 eggs (!!) On the bare floor and all the hay was gone.
Am I missing something? Do they need need to get use to it?

We had chickens years ago but something got into the run and they all got "sent to the farm" (at least that's the story my son remembers), but we didn't have this problem with them...

Just scared they will crack the eggs with no padding under them?? Any advice?

Love this forum so much! Thanks in advance!

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

First, is hay your normal bedding? Mine will scratch and forage through hay especially if they haven't seen it in a while. I use shavings in the nestboxes.

Second, new layers can be vigorous in their digging in the nestboxes sometimes, and sometimes they don't know where to lay, so keep some fake ceramic eggs in your boxes to show them a safe place to lay.

It can be chaotic when a new batch of pullets starts laying, but thing settle down usually within the first month or two and they all figure it out.

 

[kitkat5505]

I use AstroTurf in the nest boxes. No scratching it out and easy to clean.

 

[Justinseaworthy]

First, is hay your normal bedding? Mine will scratch and forage through hay especially if they haven't seen it in a while. I use shavings in the nestboxes.

This could be it. I use pine pellets in the coop and this is the first they've seen hay. Really didn't think of that...and now thinking back, the last ones we had only had hay when we got them.

Thanks for the quick replies!

 

[barred2rock]

Do you have a lip on the front of the nest boxes to prevent the girls from kicking out the bedding? I use straw with a 2x4 on the front of the boxes and have never had an issue with my girls kicking out the straw.

 

[aart]

(seem to always find the answer and don't have to ask!)

Kudos to you!!
......and Welcome 'out of the closet'! haha!

First, is hay your normal bedding? Mine will scratch and forage through hay especially if they haven't seen it in a while. I use shavings in the nestboxes.

Second, new layers can be vigorous in their digging in the nestboxes sometimes, and sometimes they don't know where to lay, so keep some fake ceramic eggs in your boxes to show them a safe place to lay.

It can be chaotic when a new batch of pullets starts laying, but thing settle down usually within the first month or two and they all figure it out.

Ditto Dat^^^
IME new layers inevitably tear up nests until they figure things out.
...and I now have an older hen that does this every day, think she's looking for seeds in new batch of straw, or ever searching for the weak/broken egg from another hen, or she's just neurotic, but it drives me nuts. Sorryrantover.

 

[BirdHead]

How wide is the opening to your nest boxes? Is it big and square or do they have to fit through a circle like mine?

The hole is just big enough for them to slip in and go lay comfortably but not big enough to make it a playhouse, I did have the same issue as you with the straw for the first couple weeks because they were smaller then what's pictured above and were more vigorous with new things, however I decreased the amount of hay in the nest and had to keep all of it off the floor constantly and about the third week they quit doing it, and actually turned what hay was in the nest into a perfect nest and it hasn't changed shape since and all the girls share the same spot also if you look carefully on the nest box I have devised braces around the hole to hold a little piece of board to keep chickens out when necessary, this also could be used to keep the hens away from the nest box if having issues with broodiness, egg eaters, messy hens.

 

[lazy gardener]

To OP: Welcome! YOu might consider giving your girls a bale of hay in their run. Simply clip the twine, and let them have at it. This might satisfy their desire to play with it (hay is an awesome stress buster if you're a chicken) and get them to leave it alone in the nest boxes. I put my hay nice and thick. Yeah, my pullets are tearing up the nests, but they leave the hay alone b/c it's not a novelty to them. They are rearranging the fake eggs/golf balls, constantly kicking them out onto the floor. I still have some timid girls that need to be blocked out of nest boxes at night. If you can set your boxes up from the start so they can easily be blocked off, it will save you much frustration down the road.

 

[dunnmom]

My hens kick every last bit of bedding out of their nest boxes and lay on the wood. Their eggs get cracked sometimes. I've never been able to figure that one out. They occasionally push quite a bit of their shavings out of the coop, too. This almost always happens when I've changed the bedding. I always thought it was because my hens like to scratch through and rearrange the fresh shavings. Just a chicken thing.

 

[Justinseaworthy]

Thanks for all of the replies and info! I'm gonna give it a shot and give them more hay to see if this they start to lose interest..if not I'll fill the boxes with bedding or something else.

Thanks!