They keep kicking the fake egg out

[prettygreenegg]

Hi everyone,

I'm new to this site and new to chickens!!

I have a 4 box nesting area with a roof on it. They sleep on the roof and look out the window!! one of my girls is laying in a nesting box. I put a fake egg in the box as soon as I noticed the first egg. it was kicked out, but another girl layed a green egg in the box. so, I put it back in and again they kicked it out. so I stopped putting the fake egg in the box. now only one lay's in the box and I have found a green egg in the bedding on the floor and one green egg outside in the pen area.

my question is will they start to lay in the boxes? Do I keep putting the fake egg in if they keep kicking it out?

They also kick all of the bedding that I put into the boxes out.

Thanks,
Ginny

 

[Happy Chooks]

Kicking the shavings out is normal as they try to make their nest for laying. What size are your boxes? They may be too small and then they are pushing out the eggs while trying to move around in the box. 12X12X12 is a good size for nesting boxes.

 

[wowmanacat]

I have one chicken that no matter what I do she will not lay in the nest boxes. She does lay in the same place all the time and it is in a corner so that I don't mind. I do have to hunt sometimes for the egg since the like to take there dirt bath in that area. I have another one that will lay everywhere and that drives me crazy. As for kicking the fake eggs out mine did that too, now that they are all laying I have taken them out. I have even had two chickens in the same box at the same time.

 

[wrldlygrrl]

I have two out of twenty-three that share a laying spot on the floor in the coop.

 

[galanie]

If they lay in the nest with the fake egg in there, and don't when it's not, then I'd keep putting it back in there.

 

[debid]

Do you have a lip on the front of the box? If your design allows it, try adding a 2-3" railing to the front of the boxes. That helps keep in the litter, fake eggs, AND real eggs if a hen is not the first to use the box.

 

[prettygreenegg]

Thank you for all of the great information and idea's! my boxes are atleast 12x12x12! My EE did lay one in the box when i was putting the fake egg in, so i put it back in. i will have to see if we can add more wood to the lip in front of each box. my house is about 30 sqft. just big enouph for 5 girls. so, i would be concerned about how much space would be there to get into the box after the change was made. but i will see what we can do cuz they push all of the bedding out of the boxes.