Used Omlet outdoor rabbit run Width 2.2m Height 2.05m Length 3.1m vgc.

[Omega]

We have had two chickens for about a year now - Marmalade (Gingernut Ranger) and Lucille (Miss Pepperpot). They have the run of the entire garden and love to be around people. We have had a bit of trouble in the past with them using alternate nesting places to their Eglu but we managed to find all of their nests, and the eggs.

 

However, for about the last ten days there have been no eggs in their Eglu. They don't seem distressed or ill at all so I think they're still laying, but where exactly we don't know. We've tried observing them during the day but alas, they can't be traced.

 

Any help on how to find their nest would be appreciated, or if you think they have possibly stopped laying for whatever reason please let me know! We'd become used to fourteen eggs a week and it's a bit strange being without now.

 

Thanks.

[Patricia W]

Look for dark, inaccessible places, preferably well supplied with bramble and stinging nettle! Mine always choose these. Sounds as though they have found their ideal place - if not yours. I doubt they'd both stop laying at the same time.

[Omega]

Yeah, that's what I thought, haha.

 

Thanks for the help we've had a couple of really good searches though and so far no luck. They should be getting back onto a night cycle in a few days though so at least that'll disrupt their hiding for a while.

[Ain't Nobody Here]

I'm sure this won't be the case for you but mine have changed from laying 3 almost every day to one every other day plus the occasional softie . So you may find there isn't actually a stash of eggs anywhere .

[Omega]

Yeah, we found the remains of a soft egg in the Eglu... Ten days seems a long time to go with NONE apart from that one, though...

[Snowy]

I know it seems harsh, but it might be worh keeping them shut in their run for a few days - then you will know exactly what the situation is and it will retrain them to use their nestbox.

[Egluntyne]

Good idea Snowy.....and they will also tank up on pellets instead of which should improve their laying.

[Minky]

I use my ears - our Mrs Pepperpot likes to lay in pain in the bum places (the current one involves climbing over a small wall which allows me to lower myself behind a large camellia bush and use a ladle to hook them out of undergrowth, grrr) but it never takes me more than a few days to work out where she is by listening out for happy egg noises in the shrubbery!

[Omega]

Thanks for all your help - we tried shutting them in but they got very distressed very quickly We're going to try using the fencing to keep them in a smaller area, with no hiding places apart from the Eglu.

 

And we've found with ours that they're very silent layers and they absolutely refuse to make any noise when laying! There's a conspiracy here I think... Minky, yours sound like expert hiders, and you sound like an expert retriever you must be really desperate for those eggs!

[Minky]

Hehe. the irony is we're inundated with eggs atm, but I can't resist the challenge - my hens have trained me well!