Why would they prefer no nest box?

[CathyM]

I am puzzled that at least two of my hens who have access to a nest box (shown below) actually prefer going into the small coop I have, that has no nest box (second photo)! The nest boxes seem to be the right size, and they will use it if I block off their access to the box-less coop (which I do because the two hens that live there need to use it!

)

Can anyone see any reason why the hens prefer the corner of the coop floor to a real nest box? I need to know because I'm planning to remove both those boxes and re-fit them external to the coop (like in the popular brands of small coop,with the lifting lid). I hate to go through a lot of trouble if they are just going to prefer the other coop. Note: there is an area under the nest boxes that I would see as comparable -- ie: just coop floor. They don't nest there or on other parts of their own coop floor. So what is it about the smaller coop??

Thanks!

These are the two nest boxes:

This is Desdemona "slumming" in the smaller coop:

 

[paddock36]

I have a couple of hens that refuse to use the nest box and keep laying under the roost in the nightly chicken poo

I can't seem to catch who is doing it.

 

[elmo]

Quote:
It might be one of the lowest ranking hens. If you only have one nestbox and a superior hen is in it, the lower ranking ones will wait as long as they can for the box and then will lay somewhere else when they can't hold it in anymore. If you put in a spare nestbox, they might use that instead.

 

[elmo]

Your small coop is itself a nestbox in your chickens' view. It's got the same bedding, it's all nice, cozy and dark. Are these two lower ranking hens? If so, they may be getting hassled by the other hens if they try to use the other nestboxes. Or it just might be their own, individual personal taste.

I have one hen, Glinda, who persistently tries to lay her eggs on the roof of our big run. Chickens definitely have their own ideas about these things.

 

[HHandbasket]

That's almost as bad as us having 6 hens, 4 nesting boxes, but all 6 wanna use the same box, at the same time. They'll crowd in there two at a time sometimes.

One of the higher-ranked girls (Juanita, the barred rock) discovered, however, that the "cardbox box" nesting box in the other part of the coop does provide her with some more privacy, and she's been using that box the last week or so.

They're gonna lay where they wanna.

I have no doubt that when we clean our garage, we're going to find eggs. One of my EE's goes into the garage all the time, comes out singing the egg song, and we can't find the eggs. She's hidden them in there somewhere, but we have a lot of boxes of old stuff "stored" out there, so I'm sure she's found a spot. Normally she goes in the nesting box, but I think she'll go lay in the garage if someone else is in the nest.

Some of the girls don't mind sharing nest space with their flockmates, but some of the other girls will chase off anybody who comes into the box while the're sitting.

 

[henney penny]

Look at these nice nesting boxes my dh made,hardly ever do I find an egg in there,they lay under it on the floor

 

[obaan1]

He's a good builder.

 

[elmo]

Quote:
I wonder if the roof on the boxes is too low for them...but laying underneath has got to be just as tight a squeeze. Go figure.

One thing that often helps to get hens to lay where you want is to put a couple of fake eggs there. Chickens are very susceptible to peer pressure. If they think another chicken has decided this is a good place to lay her eggs, they're apt to want to copy her.

 

[Pagan Prince]

I rescued some "Battery hens" from the British Hen welfare trust a while back. It took a couple of weeks of placing a couple of fake eggs in the boxes to re educate them into using them. For a while they layed EVERYWHERE ! I even found one egg sitting upright on a perch three feet off the floor once. Let alone one layed whilst running !

 

[LynneP]

henny penny- your birds won't go in because they bump their chests or necks on the top edge of the box. If you add a perch on the front to keep them back a bit, or give them smething to stand on so they can take a look inside, they'll go in! Hens must check out a cavity first, they're wary of snakes, rodents and weasels that may lurk inside.