Wild Chicken eggs!

[js1]

I'm in Kauai & we have many wild chickens. A friend had them laying in her open animal barn so she put up nest boxes about 8 feet high & they started laying in them. We started a "chicken yard" area with a compost pile & put some horse manure, ongoing veggie scraps, yard plant trimmings & leaves there so they love to scratch in it. Now we put nest boxes several feet high with dry leaves inside & have a chicken chow feeder there too temporarily, but will let them eat bugs when they get established. What more could a wild chicken want, ha ha? Do you know of anything to entice the hens to discover the nest boxes, check them out, & lay in them?

Did you ever find an answer to getting the hens to discover the nest boxes? I live on big island and we've had a feral hen in our yard for a few weeks and would love her to stick around (and lay the eggs in a consistent spot!)

 

[Nathalie808]

Did you ever find an answer to getting the hens to discover the nest boxes? I live on big island and we've had a feral hen in our yard for a few weeks and would love her to stick around (and lay the eggs in a consistent spot!)

That’s what I’m trying to figure out as well! I keep feedin them and have 10 hens and 5 roosters and only 9 eggs after 6 months of feeding them. I built nesting boxes but they haven’t used them yet.

 

[Tonyroo]

Feed them next to the nestbox so they have a reason to check it out.