penny70 Posted January 17, 2013 Share Posted January 17, 2013 So on Saturday I got the fantastic cube and run set up for my 2 hens (!). Brilliant thing, and we love it. Of the 2 chooks, only one is laying (other should come into lay at any moment) but... Problem. The layer won't use the nest box. She sleeps on the perches (great), and lays her egg on the perches too. She lays when it is still dark at some point... What can I do to encourage her to use the nest box? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jimnpaula Posted January 17, 2013 Share Posted January 17, 2013 Get some dummy eggs (plastic, wood, ceramic or possibly even golf balls) and put them in the nestbox. Hens like to lay eggs where others have laid so these dummy ones are supposed to mimic this. P Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mimi5 Posted January 17, 2013 Share Posted January 17, 2013 When my Molly started laying this time last year...she laid her first few eggs in the run!! So to encourage her I got some dummy eggs and put them in to the nest box and then tired to catch her when I thought she might be thinking about laying and popped her in there!!! Did seem to work and she has always used the nest box ever since! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
penny70 Posted January 17, 2013 Author Share Posted January 17, 2013 Thanks for the tips. I have had a wooden egg in the nest box for a couple of nights, to no avail, and I will leave that in there if it actually may help. Difficult to catch her just before laying as by the time it gets even vaguely light she's laid and is up and about! If I wake particularly early one day I may pop out and place her in the nest box just in case it's before she lays rather than after! Fingers crossed... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
suebee Posted January 17, 2013 Share Posted January 17, 2013 Things may improve when the mornings get lighter, earlier. One of my last lot of hens used the nest box with no problems at all, unless her eggs came when it was still dark, whereupon, she would lay from the perch. This may have been due to instinct to stay perched during darkness, or possibly because she couldn't see clearly where she was going, and felt safer staying put! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gongladosh Posted January 18, 2013 Share Posted January 18, 2013 Yep, I'd go for the fake egg approach Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
penny70 Posted January 18, 2013 Author Share Posted January 18, 2013 Fake eggs in nest box as of last night. One egg laid on perch this morning! I suppose if she's happy so should I be, but will leave fake eggs in there for now to see if they encourage her to lay in the right place... Time will tell. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
penny70 Posted January 27, 2013 Author Share Posted January 27, 2013 Well you were all right about the fake eggs, although it took nigh on a week for old Snow White to get what they were there for, but she is now laying in the nest box every morning, even with the fake eggs removed yesterday. Thank you for the advice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gongladosh Posted January 29, 2013 Share Posted January 29, 2013 it'll probably sort itself out when they all lay - once she sees that the others use the nest, she should follow suit at some point. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
