Used the nest box and now...

[Yay Chicks!]

...are laying on the coop floor.
My 4 girls have been laying for several weeks now. They have a clean dry nest box in which there are two golf balls. They had been using the box regularly to lay their eggs...until a few days ago. Nothing has changed, but now they are laying eggs in the middle of the coop floor, usually at a spot that is the most difficult for me to reach (small coop). They also pushed one of the golf balls out over the lip of the nest box, half-way across the coop, out the door and down the ramp. Chicken putt-putt golf? I'm concerned that they will do the same with the eggs!
What do you think is up with them? Is there any way to encourage them to go back to laying in the box?

 

[MakNugget]

Mine hid one of the golf balls under 10" of deep litter... it's gone until spring time I'm sure of it.

I just grabbed another golf ball and reset every day. My lip to the nest box is about 3", so unless the bedding is propping the golf ball up, it takes some effort to get it out.

I would have suggested putting a shoe box in the coop as a replacement nest but you mention that you have a small coop sooo..... Are your nest boxes dark/cozy enough? I would go through the bedding in the nest box to make sure there isn't anything unwanted taking residence too. I'm tempted to put some curtains up to help make it more private but for now my set up seems to be fine (got first egg today).

You could try adding more golf balls, or try plastic eggs from the feed store to give them a hint where all the action seems to be happening. Sorry, grabbing straws here.

 

[Yay Chicks!]

I suppose part of the issue could be not a high enough lip on the nest box. They do have curtains (a torn T shirt). And it really is clean. No bugs. And much cleaner than the coop floor. It's just so strange that they would change habits so suddenly. But then again, most of my posts are of the "Is this normal?" variety and I have learned that so much strange chicken behavior is normal!

 

[MakNugget]

Then a higher lip should help, I'm sure. They do a lot of kicking around in there, making things JUST RIGHT!

Silly chickens.

 

[tuesdays chicks]

I wound try putting a real egg in the nest and see if perhaps 1 chicken is pulling all the eggs out

 

[4 luv of eggs]

Maybe one started laying on the floor, either on purpose or by accident and the others followed suit. They can't think for themselves, you know. On the golfball thing, I didn't have any golfballs so I put a ping pong ball and some breakapart easter eggs. One day I found an opened easter egg in the run. One of them just disappeared. But the strange day was when I found one still in the nestbox, opened and the ping pong ball stuck inside.

It was in the box that no one uses. I guess they got bored.

 

[itsalladream]

Quote:
I'm sorry, this I can't believe. I don't own chickens yet, but...no...

 

[4 luv of eggs]

I don't have any pictures to prove it but I guess it was a funny coincidence. They roll things around and rearrange the nesting materials and other things in the nest. My guess is the egg got pecked open and the ping pong ball got pushed inside. It was just funny and I thought I'd share. And besides, I'm not a person who does "one-up-manship" so you can take what I say as being truthful.

 

[itsalladream]

Well shucks, if you put it that way, alright...

 

[4 luv of eggs]

No offense taken.

I should have explained it better.