What time do you let your hens out of the coop?

[wherethebuffaloroam]

My girls are just about at the age to start laying...( I hope)!! Should I keep them inside until late morning to make sure they lay in the coop? They are totally free range and once I let them out, they have full run of the farm. Will they start laying somewhere else unless I train them to use their nest boxes?

 

[SallyF]

I never let mine out until they produce some eggs. Once I succumbed to the pleading and pacing and started letting them out earlier. Later I found a nest of twelve eggs in a patch of poison ivy. Hens are not trustworthy and will not always go back to a nest box to lay!

 

[fasbendera]

Mine have always gone inside and I did not keep them locked up until they layed in the nest box and I am on four years with new ones added with the old each year.
I should add that the only time they laid outside was when the door was blown shut and they couldn't get in. I hadn't opened the chicken door in the back because I had my coop divided up for babies and the chicken door was on the baby side. Now I make sure that is never blocked off because it can never blow shut.

 

[Jen4]

Ours have been laying for over a month now and I've been letting them out early in the morning the past couple of days and I believe they are all coming to the coop to lay... yesterday we got 22 eggs out of 30... everyone is not laying yet, but every week acouple more start.

 

[ams3651]

I cant let mine out all the time anymore so I wait till early evening to give them a little time outside. But when I was they always went back inside to lay. Maybe keep them inside later for a couple weeks till they really learn where they are supposed to go.

 

[teach1rusl]

Quote:
Makes sense to me!

If you CAN wait till later. I work a decent ways from home, so I don't have the option to wait till later...

 

[Olive Hill]

They won't all necessarily lay first thing in the morning so unless you're going to keep them cooped 24/7 until they're all laying there's really no way to force them to use the nest boxes.

Mine are let out first thing and are free range all day -- weekdays this means they're out earlier than weekends when we sleep a little later. Either way they always find their way to the nest boxes when they're ready to lay. It's not foolproof, but I'd say don't treat it as a problem until it becomes one. Give them a chance to choose to use the box and if you have an issue with finding eggs elsewhere address it when it arises.

 

[mamagardener]

I was letting mine out in the morning to free range. Out of 8 chickens 2 of them always laid in the nest box(cinnamon queens), the EE's and other cinnamon queen would occasionally lay in the nest. One day I said that's it and followed one of the chickens. There was a nest with 18 eggs, after I found that one they stopped laying there. Next thing I know I find another nest with six eggs.

Now my chickens stay in until around 2:00. When we open it up there is 6 eggs. So from now on no free range in the morning. They have to lay before they play!

 

[Ken H]

On my daughter's suggestion,I put golf balls in the nesting boxes, to give the girls the idea of where to lay eggs. I let mine out at around 8:30 am and usually have one or two eggs at that time. Then I check later in the day for more. So far the girls seem to be returning to the nesting boxes during the day to lay.

 

[SallyF]

Quote:
Thank you. I'm glad to hear that mine are not the only ones who don't regard the nest box as "home sweet home"! I was about to go read all those other posts to them and ask where i went wrong...