Will new laying ladies know where to lay?

PileatedFarms

Songster
Jun 29, 2021
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Michigan
We have some juvenile chickens who are gearing up to lay and are wondering if they will know to lay in the nesting boxes? They are free ranging so we don't know if they'll be wild layers or learn from the older hens where to lay. Any tips or advice?

Thanks!
 
At least, at first, I'd say they will lay somewhere other than nesting boxes...but my chickens change where they lay frequently...
 
We have some juvenile chickens who are gearing up to lay and are wondering if they will know to lay in the nesting boxes? They are free ranging so we don't know if they'll be wild layers or learn from the older hens where to lay. Any tips or advice?

Thanks!
No they don't know where to lay.

Do you have any faker ceramic eggs laying around but you can put in a nest box?
Golf balls?
 
We have some juvenile chickens who are gearing up to lay and are wondering if they will know to lay in the nesting boxes? They are free ranging so we don't know if they'll be wild layers or learn from the older hens where to lay. Any tips or advice?

Thanks!
Do your older hens always lay in the coop nests?
Fake eggs in the nests may help.

Free ranging may dictate a 'lockdown'.
Free range birds sometimes need to be 'trained'(or re-trained) to lay in the coop nests, especially new layers. Leaving them locked in the coop/run for a week or so can help 'home' them to lay in the coop nests. Fake eggs/golf balls in the nests can help 'show' them were to lay. They can be confined to coop and maybe run 24/7 for a few days to a week, provided you have adequate space and ventilation, or confine them at least until mid to late afternoon. You help them create a new habit and they will usually stick with it. ..at least for a good while, then repeat as necessary.
 
Thank you both so much - yes there are fake eggs in each nesting box. They know the coop is home and I have seen them poking around the nesting boxes. One is close to laying and the others are a bit of ways off so I will have to be paying close attention!​
 

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