Will they come back to the coop to lay?

[Chickybaby]

I suspected my pullets were getting ready to lay, so 2 weeks ago I locked them up in their yard. Prior to that they were free ranging all day. I figured it would be impossible to find eggs if they did so I shut the door on the pen. Surprisingly, the next day there was an egg on the coop floor (they won't use the nest boxes) and in 2 weeks we've gotten 14 eggs total. I'm starting to feel bad for them because they used to roam all over and now they're stuck. And with them being locked up, my feed bill has doubled! Neither is good

. So my question now is, is it likely they will return to the coop to lay (now that they've been doing it for 2 weeks) or will they just lay anywhere in the yard if I let them out? They, by the way, are 6 month old Lt Brahmas.

 

[chickflick]

Yes, they will. Once in awhile a chicken will find somewhere else to lay, but mostly they come back to lay their eggs. Put fake eggs in the nest boxes so they know that is where they are suppose to lay their eggs.

 

[steffpeck]

We kept ours locked in the coop until late afternoon, and then after they laid we would let them out to free-range till evening. We did this for 2-3 weeks and then let them out earlier and they knew to go to their nest boxes to lay their eggs. Good Luck!!

 

[silkiechicken]

I say keep them cooped just long enough for them to lean how to use the nests, beyond that, they should come back to lay. A few days here and there locked in might help remind them too.

 

[Chickybaby]

That's GREAT news! I was worried I'd have to keep them in lock down forever... I have put plastic eggs in the nest boxes, but the truth is I think the boxes are just too small. We used 5 gal buckets on their sides, and they looked plenty big until the Brahmas got BIG. We've tried putting the girls in the nests, and one actually stayed and hung out for a while but didn't lay... The boxes are 12" off the floor, so I don't think they're too high. How much room do they need?

 

[Dottie Pratt]

Mine have came back to the coop to lay there eggs. The first day tho they were on the ground. But after that all was good.