What to change about the nesting box?

[Hellomylittleladies]

I've gotten 3 more eggs in the run. The nesting boxes are tampered with, but it seems she has FOMO. She lays wherever the flock is. This morning, it was laid right at the door where they all wait for me in the mornings.
Is this something I can only wait for them to grow out of?

 

[BDutch]

Had to laugh for this pullets laying behaviour. Beginners often lay strange eggs or misplaced eggs. Don’t worry too much. The fake eggs and the green circled wood are fine.

Further on it can help to add :

• Some kind of roof about 45 cm high* , in an angle so the chickens won’t sleep on top of it. * chicken standing height.
• Add some fresh hay ( my chickens love that), or herbs they can eat/ with a nice scent like oregano or lavender to make it like a luxury place to spend time in.

Btw1: I dont have bedding on the coop floor (except in freezing winter cold). Only sand, that easy to clean/rake.
Btw2 : do monitor for red mite if it’s warm and be careful with bedding and cardboard. Red mite like to hide in it but the advantage is you can throw it away with the mite if you ever get any.

 

[ellendietz]

I have a lip on mine, and it doesn’t seem to be a problem. I did read that the nesting boxes need to be lower than their nightly perch.

 

[Mrs. K]

I think you are right, the floor is very similar to the nests. Is there a reason you don't want them laying in that spot? Sweep the bedding off the floor for a few days, or make it pretty thin, so that the bedding in the nests is more appealing. Put a box or something where she did lay, so she cannot lay there again.

Mrs K

 

[Hellomylittleladies]

Further on it can help to add :

• Some kind of roof about 45 cm high* , in an angle so the chickens won’t sleep on top of it. * chicken standing height.

Thanks for the input.
Where do you mean the roof should be? The nesting boxes are enclosed.

It does seem like she's not impressed by the wood shavings in the nesting boxes. I'll try getting some straw the next time I'm at the store. Right now she's just laying in the run. It's an almost daily egg hunt

 

[Hellomylittleladies]

I think you are right, the floor is very similar to the nests. Is there a reason you don't want them laying in that spot? Sweep the bedding off the floor for a few days, or make it pretty thin, so that the bedding in the nests is more appealing. Put a box or something where she did lay, so she cannot lay there again.

Mrs K

I don't want them laying there because there's a lot of poop after they roost at night (I've cleared it in the photo). I'll thin the bedding, thanks. Right now she's not even laying there anymore.. just dropping the eggs wherever the rest of the flock hangs out haha

 

[Devyn Nagy]

I don't know if you've already done this, but putting artificial eggs in the box really helped for me. Somehow they instinctively know what an egg is and lay theirs with it.

 

[Devyn Nagy]

I don't know if you've already done this, but putting artificial eggs in the box really helped for me. Somehow they instinctively know what an egg is and lay theirs with it.

Oops, I missed your mention of the egg. Well, still...

 

[Hellomylittleladies]

9 eggs so far, none in the nesting boxes.. the latest one this morning straight off the roost.
At least the shells seem pretty strong!

 

[BDutch]

Thanks for the input.
Where do you mean the roof should be? The nesting boxes are enclosed.

It does seem like she's not impressed by the wood shavings in the nesting boxes. I'll try getting some straw the next time I'm at the store. Right now she's just laying in the run. It's an almost daily egg hunt

I didn’t see a roof in the photo.

Tip: Do monitor for red mite this time of the year. Under the roost and in the nestboxes.