A new egg laying spot

davin · **Posted:** Sun Sep 16, 2012 9:00 am

One of my chooks has decided to lay her eggs under my house way down the back, there is no way i can get to them as its a tight fit. She has only just started laying there in the last few days, there was 2 eggs in there nesting box on Thursday, i let them out (2 chooks) on Friday so they can free range & i did the same yesterday. But yesterday i noticed one chook free ranging on her own (they stick together like glue) for longer then normal so i went out to there coop to see if the other girl was nesting but it was empty so i walked around the house but still nothing so i looked under the house & i could just see her, she was right down the back in the dark area's so i grabbed the torch & there she was nesting. After she finished i had another look under the house & there is two eggs just sitting there in the dirt in the dark with no way of getting to them. Boarding up the gap around half of the house is not really an option as it would take alot of wire/sheets to do the job. So why did she start laying under the house when she has layed in the nesting box from her first egg?, how can i stop this? In the mean time they are staying in there coop, which i dont like doing that to them when iam home but i dont see any other solution at this time.

Thanks, Davin

doggo · **Posted:** Sun Sep 16, 2012 10:06 am

Your chook is instinctively looking for the best place to brood a clutch of eggs. Now that she has chosen this spot she needs to be broken of the habit. As you can't exclude her from the area you will probably need to keep her confined in the morning until she has laid. Perhaps you could also make the nest box more suited to the instinctive need. This involves providing somewhere secluded and sheltered from the elements. Too much light, heat from the sun, wind exposure etc. will make the nest box less attractive.

Raf · **Posted:** Tue Sep 18, 2012 6:19 am

If thats the spot she want to sit then why not let her as long as you have a roo? or she's wasting her time then lock her in the coop for a few days

Raf

davin · **Posted:** Tue Sep 18, 2012 9:20 am

Thanks for the replys. I dont have a rooster (i would love to have a roo). Yesterday i decided to crawl under the house to her nesting spot (my gosh it was tight) to grab the few eggs she was sitting on, BUT when i got closer i noticed more then a few eggs there was 12 eggs!!. So for the next 3 weeks they will be locked up in there coop which i dont like to do to them but i have to try something.

Thanks, Davin

Raf · **Posted:** Tue Sep 18, 2012 2:25 pm

She was crafty :lol:

good idea to lock her away for a little while at least saves you crawling under the house again [smilie=a_chuckle.gif]

Raf

hatchNhold · **Joined:** Tue Sep 25, 2012 7:39 am **Posts:** 2

I thought my 4 hens had decided not to lay eggs and where on strike 2 weeks had passed on not a single eggs but then one morning I had the check the pool pump and low and behold in the pump shed were 2 weeks worth of eggs. Needless to say we now shut the pump shed door

catnaps · **Joined:** Tue Oct 02, 2012 8:27 pm **Posts:** 1

I just found a hen sitting in the old dog house that the dog never uses I was going to break it up but looked inside first and there was holly with a whole bunch of eggs I did not notice she was missing so I will have to pay more attention in the future

julie at serenity · **Posted:** Wed Oct 03, 2012 12:13 pm

I have a pair of campines which were housed in a small pen......all was good.....got 2 more hens thus I moved all 4 into a larger pen.....campines love to roost high if they get the chance...this lot decided to start roosting on the top cross bar of the pen (about 7 foot off the ground).......but...I also thought they had gone off the lay as there had been no eggs since I had moved them.....yesterday I found the girls had been laying in a box on the shelf above the built in training pen (another 7 foot off the ground) :shock:

..... the box is now removed...

davin · **Posted:** Wed Oct 03, 2012 3:29 pm

One of my girls are still laying under the house, as i type this she is laying there. I locked them up for a little over a week & all was good when i let them free range again (only for a few hours in the afternoon not all day as i used to let them) but in the last few days she has gone back under there

. It wont be for another month till i'll be able to fence of the gap around the house, so i might have to keep them locked up till then.

Thanks, Davin.

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