I don't know if anyone remembers but, awhile back I asked for help b/c my girls would not lay in our nesting boxes. Well many of you offered your advice, ideas and expertise on the issue. We totally re-did our boxes, took the old out and did a completely new idea and went with a wooden frame with holes cut out and then put big 5 gal buckets (laying down) in the holes to use as the nests and added roosts in front of the buckets so they could check them out w/out having to get in. Ya, that flopped too. They don't like them at all. I saw that idea somewhere on here and loved it, DH loved it even more but the girls...they didn't love it.
This is getting so frustrating, we were getting 2-3 eggs a day and now, I *might* get 2 a day out of 5 hens. Today though, I didn't find any at all. I can lock them in but then they just lay on the floor and bury the eggs w/the shavings and that is so super awesome!!I thought someone said that they aren't picky...that someone obviously hasn't met my chickens.
Any ideas? Is this normal, to have this difficult of a time to get them to lay in the box? Do we just keep trying new ideas or are my girls a lost cause?
My answer probably won't help.
For a year, my original girls laid in the nice comfy boxes. The new hens, once they started, laid in a corner on the floor. Now it is hit or miss where I find the eggs. Some are in the boxes and some are on the floor in the corner. Even the old box girls will lay on the floor if the nest box is occupied.
All except for my BO, who must lay in the same box each day whenever she is ready. She will toss out any hen who is there if she is ready to lay. I've been watching this behaviour all summer long.
I don't know if it is a breed thing or a dominance thing. But it is certainly interesting to observe. As long as they are laying, I am happy.
