The case of the mysterious disappearing chicken

[ChicKat]

Adele,

That's so interesting? Frost? ARe you in the Southern Hemisphere? Would you please send us some of your cold..... we are in a heatwave.

If you had a run and coop, could you 'lock her up' in an enclosed area, until she gets the idea...and only let her out once she lays her egg? Today, I let the early egg layer out and kept the others In the run...so they would not be able to free-range until they finished the egg laying part of the day. That is all I have thought of. Somedays, when they are out free ranging, I have seen them go back to the nest box....but it occurs to me that in this heat...they may just get ideas of what they think is a better place for their egg, and I wouldn't even know it. I have a netting area for them too--- so IN the wire run, or inside the poultry netting pasture until the egg is completed...and only then are they allowed to roam where ever they want. (sounds like I'm talking to a child with instructions to do the homework first)

Hope you get her 'trained' to lay in the nesting box.

 

[CapricornFarm]

Put a golf ball or artificial egg in the nest. They figure if another hen thinks it's a good spot, then it's safe. I would not leave a chicken out overnight unless there was no other choice. Too many predators out there, even if you don't see them. Keep your hen cooped up for a few days so she has to lay inside. She'll get the idea.

 

[adele]

I have had a hard boiled egg in the nest box for some time but she has paid it no heed! My chooks currently sleep in the basement of our garage, its a decent sized garden shed type room where I have put a couple of perches and nest boxes until their permanent accommodation can be put up (its currently sitting on my lawn in peices waiting for my man to get handy) they have no enclosed run until this happens and just free range all over the place. I don't mind so much in winter as the area I am going to close off for them gets no proper sunlight in winter so its good to see them seek some out elsewhere. I just figured they would go back to the nest to lay. I yesterday bought some large round cardboard drums - about as big as a 10gallon bucket that I am going to make into nestboxes and see if that is more appealing for them.

It is cold in New Zealand - just a couple of weeks past winter solstice, we don't get snow on the ground here but it is low on the hills around. egg was still yummy though! Thanks for your ideas. As for predators, its really only one kitten from next door that bothers them and the occasional hedgehog! I have lost a few bantams to marauding dogs in the past but this is random and there is really nothing I can do about it.