Watching my new hens figure out the nesting boxes taught me something about patience

I picked up 3 new Australorps from a farm near here about 2 weeks ago, and for the first 4 days they refused to use the nesting boxes I set up. They kept laying eggs right in the middle of the run, which meant I had to hunt for them every morning. I was this close to locking them in the coop, but instead I just left some fake eggs in the boxes and waited. On day 5, one hen finally checked out a box, and within an hour all three were using them like they'd been doing it for years. Has anyone else dealt with stubborn new birds that just refuse to use proper nesting spots?

2 comments

2 Comments

elliotw373d ago

12 fake eggs in a box is exactly why your hens acted that way. You basically trained them to be suspicious of the boxes by forcing them to figure out a puzzle you created. Birds are smart, they know when something is off. I've had hens that ignored perfectly good nesting boxes for weeks because they preferred the ground or a tucked away corner where they felt safer. Maybe your birds just wanted a dark, private spot that felt natural to them, not some fancy box with decoys you put in there. Next time try putting the boxes where the hens choose to lay first, not where you want them to lay.

thea_knight2d ago

Ngl, I've been there. Took my first batch of Wyandottes almost three weeks to figure out the boxes. What finally worked was taking one of the eggs they laid in the run and rolling it into a nesting box while they watched. Also made sure the boxes were in the darkest corner of the coop, not near the entrance where they felt exposed. Sometimes it's less about the fake eggs and more about them not feeling safe enough to sit still in a spot that's too open.