Pro - Does anyone else's nest boxes get soaked in rain?

[omegahouse]

We have had four chickens for about a year now, and recently got three more to join them. The previous four we had had stopped laying in their eglu, and had started making nests in hedges, under bushes, et cetera, which was fine (as long as we knew where they were!). Our new chickens arrived, and started laying straight away (they have their own eglu). However, recently, there have been a number of eggs in the old eglu which looked a bit like the ones we were getting from the new chickens.

 

Is it possible that the new chickens would start laying in the old eglu? They have been eating food from the other eglu, but I thought that when it came to laying, chickens were more territorial than that...? If you've had anything similar happen, please let me know, because currently, we're all a bit confused!

[Patricia W]

Mine have a choice of cube or an eglu (both without runs as they free range all day).

 

Before I merged them, four chickens were " brought up" in the cube and 4 in the eglu. Each chicken can choose and so they do. Two of the cube chickens choose the cube but 2 choose the eglu. Three of the original eglu chickens choose the eglu, but one chooses the cube.

 

Hens are fickle creatures..

[Minnie&Moose]

Every time I've introduced new hens I've found that the old hens, immediately they have access to the new birds' house, will lay their eggs in there as well. Not sure whether it's because the intro house is my original eglu so all girls will have lived there initially and like to go back to their old house. they prefer the eglu nest box for some reason, or they're sending a clear message to the newbies

[gongladosh]

it's probably to send a message - when I merged a group of hens last year, the bigger girls made a point of getting into the new hen's house on a morning so they could do their monster poos in there....

[JS1]

My ten chickens chose to sleep in the one wooden house (should sleep six) and lay in the one eglu. They literally queue and one day last week I found both a maran and an araucana trying to lay in the eglu nesting box at the same time. And they managed! Basically, I wouldn't worry about it too much