wrong spot to lay!

[aart]

What do the nests look like from the front, in side the coop?

I'd take that try out of there and put the same bedding back in along with fake eggs.
Can you check for eggs frequently during the day?

Haven't heard of new layers eating eggs like this, they do mess up the nests and that can lead to eggs breaking.

ETA: forgot to add cut out everything but the layer feed.
Tell your guests they can't have mealworms right now.

 

[StinkyAcres]

That is odd. You may want to cut out the scratch grains for now. Did you get them the oyster shell? They really need the calcium.
What are the dimensions of the nest boxes (width, depth, height)?
I like to have a pretty deep lip on my nest boxes and fill them quite full with hay or straw. The hens will arrange the straw/hay into cozy rounded nests and they aren't able to empty them out.

 

[rehsanipoor]

Okay, I took out the trays and put more hay in to bulk it up and nestled the dummy egg in (although apparently my chickens aren't dummies). I will try to get a better picture of the inside. The entire nesting box is 28"x 16", so with the divider in they each have roughly 14". I can add a lip so that they can't drag everything out as easily. How tall is your lip?

Lastly, should I continue to keep them in the coop until mid-day?
I'm an elem. school teacher and am at school for the first half the day so I cannot check throughout the morning. I usually get home close to noon. Although today by that time the damage was done!

We know we have two laying (by egg color) but aren't even sure which ones are. We've only found egg/egg remains in the coop and only one a day. Although we have found nest like little ditches in their run.. but they've been empty.

Going to feed store tomorrow for new food and oyster shell as well.

 

[StinkyAcres]

How tall is your lip?

I wanna say the lip on my nest boxes is about 4 inches.
This is my nesting box: https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/dilapidated-dresser-to-nifty-nesting-boxes.78018/

Do you have a run? I, personally, wouldn't let them free range unsupervised.

 

[rehsanipoor]

We have a secured run that they go into in the morning. But I'm wondering if they should stay in the coop to encourage them to lay in the box

 

[townchicks]

Any chance rats could access the eggs when you aren't there? I had a hen laying in the garden this spring and the rats were cleaning out the eggs before I could get them, even though I was checking frequently.

 

[rehsanipoor]

doubtful. I haven't seen any signs of rats.

 

[rehsanipoor]

So is the consensus that I should leave them in the coop until mid-day and hope I don't find chicken demolition when I get home around noon?

 

[BigBlueHen53]

How high is the nest? I mean from top to bottom, what is the dimension of the inside of the nest box? Subtract the space taken up by bedding. Can the hen comfortably stand to lay her egg? They have to stand up to drop the egg out of their body.

 

[rehsanipoor]

I wanna say the lip on my nest boxes is about 4 inches.
This is my nesting box: https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/dilapidated-dresser-to-nifty-nesting-boxes.78018/

Do you have a run? I, personally, wouldn't let them free range unsupervised.

I just checked out your drawers. I actually have an old broken down dresser. Maybe I should I repurpose the drawers if they will fit in the nesting box.