They suddenly stopped laying in the nest boxes???

[TomZilla43]

So about 3-4 wks ago I cleaned out the nest boxes and put fresh shavings in(an egg had broken in the "fav" box). After that I have gotten one egg out of the nest boxes, they pretty much refuse to use them since I cleaned them out. Now they are laying consistently in the corners of the coop(I do the deep litter method in their coop), not the worst thing in the world I suppose but I was just wondering if anyone else had experience with this phenomena and if so did you find a way to get them to start back laying in the boxes? I've gathered the eggs for a couple of days and transferred them from the coop corners back into the nest boxes to "remind" them where they are supposed to be laying, that's how I got someone to lay one egg back in the boxes but for the most part they seem to not be interested in going back to the boxes at all. And for a solid year the boxes was the ONLY place they would lay. As far as I can tell the boxes are exactly identical to what they were prior to the clean out other than clean and fresh shavings(which was what was in there previously). Any thoughts on this weirdness?

 

[ChickNanny13]

Chickens don't like "change" ... In the nest box kind of make a nice depression & put some plastic Easter eggs or golf balls in it. The corner they're nesting in, fluff the material around.

 

[Ridgerunner]

Aren't chickens sometimes weird? I've never experienced that after changing out nesting material that but it goes to show that anything can happen. Did you have fake eggs in the nests before and after you cleaned them out? I leave a golf ball in my nests permanently. I think it helps.

I've retrained hens to lay in the nests instead of the coop floor by locking them in a nest until they lay that egg when I catch them on that nest on the floor. Usually I only have to do that once and it usually only takes them about a half hour to lay after I move them, but I've had a few that took a couple of times and about 3 hours to lay the egg. When I built my nests I made two of them so I could lock them, that has come in handy a few times.

If you can't be around during the day to catch them laying in that nest on the floor, you can try putting a nest where they are laying. That could be a cardboard box, but fixed so they won't turn it over. I've never done this myself but some people on here have said it worked. The idea is that you get them used to laying in that nest, then every two or three days gradually move it closer to your real nests. Either you get it where you are OK with them using it or, when you get to the old nests, remove it and see if they switch back to the old nests.

Good luck with it, this can be frustrating.

 

[Mrs. K]

Mine have done this too. Or if you suddenly get a drop in egg production, it is often a hidden nest.

Put something in their chosen spot making it not a good spot. I have just made a bare spot, there, or put an old empty water-era there, refluff the nests you want and add golf balls or a rock to one or two of the nests you want.

Mine just love to change the nest once in a while.

Mrs K

 

[TomZilla43]

Aren't chickens sometimes weird? I've never experienced that after changing out nesting material that but it goes to show that anything can happen. Did you have fake eggs in the nests before and after you cleaned them out? I leave a golf ball in my nests permanently. I think it helps.

I've retrained hens to lay in the nests instead of the coop floor by locking them in a nest until they lay that egg when I catch them on that nest on the floor. Usually I only have to do that once and it usually only takes them about a half hour to lay after I move them, but I've had a few that took a couple of times and about 3 hours to lay the egg. When I built my nests I made two of them so I could lock them, that has come in handy a few times.

If you can't be around during the day to catch them laying in that nest on the floor, you can try putting a nest where they are laying. That could be a cardboard box, but fixed so they won't turn it over. I've never done this myself but some people on here have said it worked. The idea is that you get them used to laying in that nest, then every two or three days gradually move it closer to your real nests. Either you get it where you are OK with them using it or, when you get to the old nests, remove it and see if they switch back to the old nests.

Good luck with it, this can be frustrating.
Yes I did have golf balls in their nests and I actually pulled them out when I was cleaning them and didn't put them back in for a few days, so this might be partly my fault. My nest boxes are not built to be able to lock them in so that's not really an option for me at least not without a reconstruction project. it's not something that I'm immensely concerned about(although I would like it if they would go back to the norm). Thanks for the ideas and thoughts on the dilemma.