Will they know to use the boxes?

[MuranoFarms]

I have some splash marans pullets that are almost 4 months old. (same breeder, same hatch day) Suddenly today I looked and 1 of them has little wattles and her comb is red! I read that this is a sign that she will lay soon. I have guineas. I keep them cooped when I want eggs and lately....that's been often. They lay in front of their mirror, sort of behind a board, next to the nest boxes, on the floor. lol Silly birds. So my question is, will the pullets know to use the nest boxes? Or will they start laying on the floor since the guineas are?

If they start laying on the floor.....how do I redirect them to the nest boxes? I do have golf balls in there now.
(oh...I should mention that these will be my first chicken layers. I have the guineas, but they're odd. lol The silkies are older but I don't think they are ready yet.)
Thanks!

 

[newchicksnducks]

Will they use the nest boxes? "Probably"

I had 15 pullets. One EE started to lay at 20 weeks, a couple weeks before the rest. She would loudly proclaim she had to lay, then squack while laying, then tell us all about the egg she had recently laid! lol...but she always laid on the coop floor! I put a cardboard box on her favorite floor area, and she moved to another, harder to reach, floor area! But one day, 5 of my other birds all of a sudden showed an interest in the nest boxes that had been in their coop for months, and then proceeded to lay 5 eggs in the nest boxes that day!

After one more day of coop floor laying, my EE decided the boxes must be the way to go, and she never used the floor again Funny about using false eggs though...my birds did not like the weight filled Easter Eggs I had placed in the boxes...look what they did:

Checking out the accomodations that first laying day...the white EE decided to check it out too, but it took her another day to use them! It's hard to tell, but both upper boxes have 2 pullets in each one. They still love the upper boxes most. And then look at the false eggs....

 

[MuranoFarms]

Ha ha! If they follow the guineas, I;m sure I'll end up with a 'floor layer' too!