Tricks for laying in the nest box

[PeiTheCelt]

Parvati has not been laying in the new coop since we moved her, so I just wanted to double check the tricks for getting them to lay in their coops.

1.) Fake egg in the nest box for a few days, let them know it's what the box is for.
2.) Containing them in the coop for a few days WITH the fake egg in the nest box.

(with 2 being NOT the ideal)

Are there any other tips for getting the silly thing to lay where she is supposed to that I don't know?

Thanks!

 

[devora]

Well, since chickens don't do well w/ change do you think it might take more than a few days to get her back in the swing of things?

If she's locked in, where is she laying?

I think the fake egg has to have some heft to it. Ours are wooden and we leave them in there all the time (goofy, I know, but my girls are preetttttty dumb so I want to keep reminding them!).

 

[PeiTheCelt]

She's not locked in, I'm trying to avoid that actually, I was kind of saying "okay these are the tricks I've picked up on here to do this, are there any others?

I don't want to lock her in if I don't have to, I'm just trying to make sure that I have a few ideas in my tool kit so to speak.

(and yes, I'm fully aware of the fact that she could have delayed laying because of the move to the new coop, except she laid in the car on the way to our place and then again the first day she was here... Those were both far bigger changes/stressors than the move 20 ft. to the new coop.. We figure she's been laying somewhere else (she freeranges on our almost 9 acre property..

 

[ZuniBee]

I followed advice from this forum and put golf balls in the nests. I must admit I thought it was rather silly, but mine started laying in the nests from the start. After a week or so they rolled the golf balls out of the nest! So, I just removed them.

 

[Mac]

Golf balls worked for me. New nesting boxes freaked them out for a day or so, so I put in the golf balls. No problem after that.

 

[periphery]

Golf balls worked for me aswell, i put about three in the laying boxes about a month before hand. My first girl 'Road Runner' took the hint and layed her first egg in the laying box, a few days later i removed the balls and the rest of the girls that started laying after that knew where to do it.