They keep you entertained (Pictures added)

[dacjohns]

My pullets are starting to lay now and the old hens seem to be on strike or else are hiding their eggs. Egg production is way down but we are finding more banty sized eggs from the pullets.

This evening while my wife and I were feeding and watering the chickens I saw on of the Light Brahmas sitting on top of an empty feed bag that we have on top of some cans to try and keep the poo off the cans. We have found eggs there in the recent past. I petted her and picked her up and she was a little unhappy about it. I took her into the coop and showed her the nest boxes and told her that is where she was supposed to lay the eggs. I put her down and she ran out of the coop and into the run. My wife was in the process of putting the waterer in the run and when she turned around there was a fresh egg under the Brahma. Poor girl, she was ready to lay on the bag and I disturbed her so she plopped her egg out in the run.

Hope she learns to use the box soon and gets on a better schedule.

 

[debilorrah]

At least she wasn't roosting over your doorway when you walked outside....

 

[doubleostud]

if had the same problem with a few of my hens, no matter what i do they just lay where ever, i have even kept them in the coop for a few days and they just layed on the floor, but everyone else is smart enough to lay in the boxes...oh well

 

[tattooedchickenlady]

I just knew you would say she had about 30 eggs under her. Whoops!

Poor girl, trying to take care of business, gets disturbed and just drops her stuff on the floor!
I hope she gets it together soon.

 

[dacjohns]

They have some decent nest boxes.

But they would rather lay here.

And it isn't just one now, it's three of them.

It looks like it's time for some remodeling and some close supervision.

 

[krcote]

so move the bags?

 

[dacjohns]

I moved the bags a few weeks ago. I rearranged things and put a bale of wood shavings in the same place. They dug a hole through the plastic and started laying there. I put an empty plastic waterer on top of their newly made nest. They moved the waterer and kept laying.

Yesterday I rearranged some more and divided the birds between two coops. I put a nest box in the coop that hadn't been used for a while and guess what? They didn't use the nest box, they laid on the floor next to the box.

Also yesterday when I was watching the hens one got up into a nest box and pushed an egg out of the box onto the ground. Now I know another reason I finding eggs on the ground in front of the boxes.

 

[sweetshoplady]

At least you didn't find an ambitious hen trying to hatch 30 eggs like I did.

You might try putting a golf ball or something like that in the nest boxes so they think someone is laying there. You do have lovely nest boxes.

Good luck!

 

[WriterofWords]

Be happy they are on a solid surface, my "tree hens" like to lay from 15 feet up.

 

[mylilchix]

Ooooo! I have a nasty little australorp hen who likes to push eggs out of the nest boxes. This morning she decided to redecorate and pushed all of my containers of feed off of the shelf above the nest boxes.

I had a cochin who was laying eggs in strange places. I put some light yellow and blue easter eggs in the nest boxes, and after a few days she started laying in the boxes.

Maybe you need to deal with poo on the cans, and just remove everything from the area. If there's nothing comfy to nest on they may stop.

How high are your nest boxes. They seem to like to nest in the highest flat place possible.

Sonja