The Moment I’ve Been Waiting For! First Egg!!!

[BlueDawnRising]

From my experience hens like some type of bedding in the nest box too. They like to move it around and create a bowl shape. Makes them feel cozy! 31 inches high for the boxes might be too high if you have heavy breeds like Jersey Giants, Brahmas and the like. Too far to jump out and land could lead to foot problems. I have both of those breeds and I have my boxes at 18 inches. Just a thought.

We have a mixed flock from Hoover’s, which I now understand doesn’t have pure breeds so take these labels for what they are worth. We have buff and lavender Orpingtons, Welsummers, Legbars, black copper Marans, prairie bluebell eggers and “Americanas.” We have 19 total. There is a ladder up to the nest box but it isn’t shown in the picture. We had a cat carrier on top of the roost bars we were keeping an injured chicken in and they are laying in it now so I don’t know if the height is an issue. I’m thinking it is nesting material. I will be home tonight and will add straw to the boxes and see if that helps! Thanks for helping! Being new to this chicken thing, I appreciate all responses!

 

[BlueDawnRising]

My boxes are closer to the ground too. And i have a ladder and a ledge for the nesting box that is about 1.5 ft from the bedded floor. I use dried moss (that was used as packing material) for their boxes.

We can can move the box closer if needed but they are laying in a cat carrier we had on top of the roosting bars, much higher than the nesting box, so I’m going to try adding bedding first to see if that fixes the problem. I appreciate your help though and we’ll keep this in mind if the bedding doesn’t work!

 

[BlueDawnRising]

So you and I are in the same boat... I have the same nest box, but have yet gotten anyone to use it!

My plan is to start them out with the curtains pinned back and regular nest pads inside. Maybe even put some furniture in front of it so it's easier to jump inside. Once I get consistent laying, I'll switch to the plastic pads that let the egg roll out.

I just wanted to update, especially since we were having the same issue. I now have 8 layers and 7 are using the nest box exclusively. I added a thick layer of straw and made bowl shaped “nests” in three spots with the fake eggs. The same day, two started laying in there instead of the floor and cat carrier (which I also removed). They kicked around in there so much that I found some of the fake eggs on the floor, making the nests “just right.” My plan is to start removing a handful of straw at a time so the change isn’t abrupt. I may wait until most are laying though…8 isn’t quite half of my flock. I also have two curtains down and one open. There doesn’t seem to be a preference as to which side they use. Hope yours are learning to use the nest box too!

 

[thecatumbrella]

I just wanted to update, especially since we were having the same issue. I now have 8 layers and 7 are using the nest box exclusively. I added a thick layer of straw and made bowl shaped “nests” in three spots with the fake eggs. The same day, two started laying in there instead of the floor and cat carrier (which I also removed). They kicked around in there so much that I found some of the fake eggs on the floor, making the nests “just right.” My plan is to start removing a handful of straw at a time so the change isn’t abrupt. I may wait until most are laying though…8 isn’t quite half of my flock. I also have two curtains down and one open. There doesn’t seem to be a preference as to which side they use. Hope yours are learning to use the nest box too!

That's awesome! If they're kicking around in there and trashing the place, then you know you've got a good spot. My girls won't start laying for another 4 months or so, but this is the technique I'll be using! Thanks for the update!

 

[Icehen99]

How old are your ladies ? Im wondering when to expect eggs from my ladies

 

[BlueDawnRising]

How old are your ladies ? Im wondering when to expect eggs from my ladies

My Orpingtons were 23.5 weeks when they started laying a couple of weeks ago. We are up to 8 eggs a day, which means some of my 18 weeks old pullets must be laying too, unless two of my 6 older girls are laying more than one a day. Seemed like it took forever, honestly! All the “signs” were there for weeks before they actually started laying.