Will my Chickens lay in Mixing bowls??????

[Harryojwright]

hi there ive just built a new chhicken coop and i dont have any space for nest boxes if i put down mixing bowls and put some straw in them will they lay????

Thanks!!

 

[ChickenSahib]

With a fake egg in it and put it in the corner, I don't see why not.

 

[HEChicken]

If you have room to lay down mixing bowls, you have room for nesting boxes! A hen's requirement is that the place she lays her eggs (per Mother Nature, her future offspring) be safe and secure. She is looking for a place that affords a little privacy and appears to be relatively predator safe. If you lay a mixing bowl down in the middle of the yard, then she is unlikely to lay in it. Instead she will try to find a place that looks safer, more secure and a little more secluded than that. However if you lay down the mixing bowls in a place that meets her other criteria, she might consider them an option.

I have used a variety of things as nest boxes. Like you, I did not initially have a place I could build them in. Instead I used a covered cat litter box with a little hay in it and they all seemed to see that as a viable option and laid eggs in it for about a year, until I was able to build something more permanent. My best experiences with finding them places to lay are that they are somewhat enclosed. They like to have a roof over their heads, rather than feel they are in a wide open space. Hope this helps.