Where do your hens nest?

[Marianne]

Do any of you have hens that like to lay their eggs on the floor?

My new hens will be laying soon. I currently have three nesting boxes, 20" or so above the floor. My past hens seemed to favor just one box, but occasionally we'd have eggs in all of them and one on the floor.

I'd like to move the nesting boxes, but there is only enough space on that wall for two of them. My thoughts are to take one completely out and use milk crates underneath the other two. I have hard rubber mats (old baseball bases) that I can put on the 'floor' part of the milk crates. So that would give me 4 nesting boxes. Should or could work, yes?

I only have 10 hens, including the 2 older ones.

 

[Kala]

From my experience hens will lay pretty much ANYWHERE they feel their eggs will be safe. But then we've had some that will just plop em down anywhere, safe or not, and go about their day.

Our newest hens started laying them on the barn floor, but the goats could get to them there so after a couple of days we found eggs way up high on top of the structure we actually have nest boxes in. So we just threw some straw up there and the next day found a nice little nest they had made and that's where we've found our eggs ever since. All 3 of them like to lay their eggs in the exact same nest, even though there's another one right beside it.

So I'd think a milk crate would work just fine. Just throw some nice bedding in there.

 

[aggieterpkatie]

I've got a really nice metal 4-hole nest box and all the hens love it. I built them a wooden 2-hole box and they refuse to use it! They'll either lay in the 4-hole box or in the sheep shelter corner.

 

[BarredBuff]

Some lay in the nests and some lay in the floor. Just wherever they take a notion!

 

[ORChick]

I have 2 built in nest boxes, and the girls have been pretty good about laying in one or the other of them - they usually all use the same one, but that one changes every once in awhile . One - my flighty Hamburg - has tried to make a nest under the bushes a few times (usually after having stopped laying for awhile because of molt) but, once I find it and remove it, she goes back into the nest. However one girl has never laid in the nest; she always lays in the shavings under the roost. So I put a bucket in that place, which keeps that spot from being pooped on, and she's quite happy with that. At the beginning though, when they started to lay, it sometimes took them a few tries to make it to the nest in time, and then I might find an egg on the ground in the run.
Put something egg shaped in the nest box(es) to give them the idea; it really does seem to help.

 

[Kala]

I have 2 built in nest boxes, and the girls have been pretty good about laying in one or the other of them - they usually all use the same one, but that one changes every once in awhile . One - my flighty Hamburg - has tried to make a nest under the bushes a few times (usually after having stopped laying for awhile because of molt) but, once I find it and remove it, she goes back into the nest. However one girl has never laid in the nest; she always lays in the shavings under the roost. So I put a bucket in that place, which keeps that spot from being pooped on, and she's quite happy with that. At the beginning though, when they started to lay, it sometimes took them a few tries to make it to the nest in time, and then I might find an egg on the ground in the run.
Put something egg shaped in the nest box(es) to give them the idea; it really does seem to help.

We just use a couple of fake eggs from Hobby Lobby that are soppused to be for decoration. They clean pretty easily and can be reused.

 

[ORChick]

I have 2 built in nest boxes, and the girls have been pretty good about laying in one or the other of them - they usually all use the same one, but that one changes every once in awhile . One - my flighty Hamburg - has tried to make a nest under the bushes a few times (usually after having stopped laying for awhile because of molt) but, once I find it and remove it, she goes back into the nest. However one girl has never laid in the nest; she always lays in the shavings under the roost. So I put a bucket in that place, which keeps that spot from being pooped on, and she's quite happy with that. At the beginning though, when they started to lay, it sometimes took them a few tries to make it to the nest in time, and then I might find an egg on the ground in the run.
Put something egg shaped in the nest box(es) to give them the idea; it really does seem to help.

We just use a couple of fake eggs from Hobby Lobby that are soppused to be for decoration. They clean pretty easily and can be reused.

I use a couple of cheap plastic Easter eggs, the kind that break apart, and can be filled with Easter candy. (A friend *egged* our house years ago one Easter morning with a couple of dozen of these ) The girls play soccer with them occasionally, kick them out of the nest, or break them into 2 halves, but they do the trick as far as showing them where to lay. My SIL looked in the nest once, and said "Wow, she really does lay a green egg!". She was so embarassed when I showed her that it was one of the plastic ones

 

[Marianne]

If I could remember where my fake eggs were, I'd use them. But for now, the golf balls in the nesting boxes will have to suffice. I think since the two older hens are there, the younger ones will learn from them, too. They sure followed the two older ones in roosting in the rafters (agh, right in front of the door, too!).

Thanks everyone!

 

[Shiloh Acres]

I have four very large wooden nests ... Sort of like if you stacked two large crates on their sides, then two more on their sides on top. Works for me because I very frequently have broody hens, and the nests are large enough that I can put a door on and the family can live there for a few days after hatching.

My standard hens almost always lay in the top two boxes, and my silkies almost always choose the bottom two, even sleeping there at night very often instead of roosting, even when they are not broody.

When they first start laying, I often find eggs under the roost, in the yard, under the rabbits, or in the empty rabbit nest boxes. I keep golf balls and dummy eggs in the nests, and they all get it pretty quickly.

My old coop used to be an A-frame with roosting poles down the center and all the nests along the low sloping sides along the floor. I had about 100 hens then, and they usually all laid there (except when they'd get a mind to hide them in the bushes ... There were a few favored spots they'd run out of the coop first thing in the morning and line up for, complaining all the while and wanting the line to move along.

 

[Kala]

I have 2 built in nest boxes, and the girls have been pretty good about laying in one or the other of them - they usually all use the same one, but that one changes every once in awhile . One - my flighty Hamburg - has tried to make a nest under the bushes a few times (usually after having stopped laying for awhile because of molt) but, once I find it and remove it, she goes back into the nest. However one girl has never laid in the nest; she always lays in the shavings under the roost. So I put a bucket in that place, which keeps that spot from being pooped on, and she's quite happy with that. At the beginning though, when they started to lay, it sometimes took them a few tries to make it to the nest in time, and then I might find an egg on the ground in the run.
Put something egg shaped in the nest box(es) to give them the idea; it really does seem to help.

We just use a couple of fake eggs from Hobby Lobby that are soppused to be for decoration. They clean pretty easily and can be reused.

I use a couple of cheap plastic Easter eggs, the kind that break apart, and can be filled with Easter candy. (A friend *egged* our house years ago one Easter morning with a couple of dozen of these ) The girls play soccer with them occasionally, kick them out of the nest, or break them into 2 halves, but they do the trick as far as showing them where to lay. My SIL looked in the nest once, and said "Wow, she really does lay a green egg!". She was so embarassed when I showed her that it was one of the plastic ones

Good to know that works! I was wondering if the really bright colors would throw the chickens off or not. But come to think of it do chickens even see color?

ETA: Ok after a quick google I guess they do!