Training them to USE nesting boxes!!!

[BethMatt]

Hello, I need some help or suggestions on how to train my girls to use the nesting boxes!! For the first 4months we had the boxes blocked off, so that they would not sleep in them at night, our first girl started to lay before I got around to opening the boxes to her, & now she (as well as the others, who are not laying yet) refuse to even go in them! She lays her egg in a dark corner in the coop, just under the roosting bar, I have tried to put something there & not allow her in the spot to lay, & she wont lay at all when I do that! HELP!! Will they figure it out eventually or will we be on an easter egg hunt everyday??

 

[boskelli1571]

Hi there,
You can try putting fake eggs into the nest boxes to give them the idea. Some catch on, some don't. I have some hens that insist on laying in a small, dark corner, others will use the boxes - go figure! I'm happy as long as they lay inside their house, I'm happy.

 

[aart]

Ditto the fake eggs and/or golf balls in a few but not all of the nests.

Leave the blockage under the roost there for a while.

How cozy are your nests?
Are they easy to get up to and down from?
Pics might help us help you.

Above all, have patience, it can take up to a month or so for them to get things smoothed out.

 

[BethMatt]

Hi there,
You can try putting fake eggs into the nest boxes to give them the idea. Some catch on, some don't. I have some hens that insist on laying in a small, dark corner, others will use the boxes - go figure! I'm happy as long as they lay inside their house, I'm happy.

Thank you for such a fast response Yes, I've had fake eggs in some & golf balls in the others..she is just set in her ways I suppose! & like you, I'm happy as long as she's laying an egg!! This is our first flock ever, & July 1st she surprised us all

 

[junebuggena]

They can be stubborn. As long as you know where she is laying her eggs and can get to them, it's not that big a deal. I had a few girls decide that they wanted to lay their eggs in the middle of a wild blackberry patch. Ouch. I had to start keeping them shut in the coop in the mornings. They now use their nest boxes most days.

 

[BethMatt]

Ditto the fake eggs and/or golf balls in a few but not all of the nests.

Leave the blockage under the roost there for a while.

How cozy are your nests?
Are they easy to get up to and down from?
Pics might help us help you.

Above all, have patience, it can take up to a month or so for them to get things smoothed out.

I will post pics when I get home to help, but they are as low as the coop floor, I put fake eggs in, & golf balls. Being that she is the only one laying, she isn't seeing any other the other ones doing anything different, so lets just hope she isn't going to start a trend! Here's a pic I have of the coop from the outside when we were installing it, the nesting boxes are just under the windows..

 

[boskelli1571]

I will post pics when I get home to help, but they are as low as the coop floor, I put fake eggs in, & golf balls. Being that she is the only one laying, she isn't seeing any other the other ones doing anything different, so lets just hope she isn't going to start a trend! Here's a pic I have of the coop from the outside when we were installing it, the nesting boxes are just under the windows..

Looks good! Let's hope the others are more conventional.