When to remove eggs from nesting box

[mamatink7]

That's a great idea... My hens free range all day. Will it be okay to band my hens?

thanks! Yes, it'll be fine and work just as well. Our girls stay by boxes after they lay to get our attention and praise♡ just be sure and pay attention to who is in there and when they are leaving, it may take awhile but it's worth it (took us 3 weeks for ours & only 4 are laying right now--due to varying colors of brown and all but 3 are brown layers)

 

[sunflowerbee]

You can leg band any bird. Yes they do lay in the nest boxes. I placed wooden eggs in there and it works...

If you free range, are all your birds laying in the coop nests?

I gather eggs at least once a day, usually when I lock up after dark.
When pullets are coming into lay, I gather more often....out of excitement to see who laid what and to gather any thin or soft shells before they make a mess.
Also gather often if I have problem layer, had one hen laying lots of thin and soft shells before going into molt this year.....
....and a pullet who found they were tasty, so was keeping a close eye to keep opportunity low and the nests and other eggs clean.