when they can't get to the nesting box???

[evonne]

it was VERY windy here today.. and my girls didn't want to fly out of their "run/coop" area like they normally do...and the nesting box is out of that area and by the house...
what happens when they can't get to the nesting box??
can they just hold the egg till they're ready to lay it? does this screw them up at all??
would she have found a place to lay in the coop area??

i did take one of my girls and put her in the nesting box, and she laid.. but then the egg was a different color than the one i had been picking up the last 2 days, so i think i grabbed the wrong hen and a second one of my EE's has started laying.. lol..
but now i feel bad that the other girl didn't get to lay her egg.....

 

[monathequeen]

Chickens Dont' Hold Their Eggs.......at 23 Hours, The Egg Is Readt To Come Out And They Will Dump It No Matter Where They Are........i Found Eggs On My Front Porch..
Dont' Be Sad For Not Letting The Chick Lay......you Have No Control Over That Natural Process.

Why Do You Have The Nesting Box Away From The Coop ? It Needs To Be In The Coop. Not Sure Why You Would Do That...dosn't Make Any Sense What So Ever.

 

[lemoniee]

One of my pullet who has recently starting laying, laid me a shell less egg right infront of me! she walked over to me, poofed herself up, stood there rigid then out popped this egg then walked off as if to say "there you are! happy?" well i was a bit shocked but not as much as when i picked it up and realised it didnt have a shell

I think i squealed tbh!

Ive also found an egg on the floor next to the nesting box door so i agree that they will lay anywhere if they cant get into the nesting box.

x

 

[evonne]

Quote:
it's by the house becasue they free range all day... and before i set this up the nest was in the middle of a 10foot in diameter pile of twigs that i need to break down and get rid of.. i figured the nest by the house was easier for me to get to.. lol...
i've tried to set up nests in their area, and they want nothing ot do with them.. they quickly spread the hay or leaves or whatever i put in it all over their yard.. lol...

i also don't have a true coop for them... nothing that closes them off at all.. they're free to coe and go as they please... mostly the stay in their area at bed time and hop into the main yard at irst light... every once in a while they end up on the wrong side of the fence but make their way to the right side soon enough...