[Heather]

How can I get my 3 hens to all lay in their hut again?
What happened was, one hen went broody- it only lasted about a week- but while she was sitting, the other 2 stopped laying in the hut.  They held onto their eggs until I let them out of the run, even until 3 or 4pm, and then ran round the garden desperately looking for a good place to lay.  Found some in the greenhouse, one under a bit of bracken, but 1 was found by the dog- just the shell was left.  Annie is laying again now, in the hut as before, but the other 2 still want to hang onto theirs until I open the run to let them free range in the garden.  Any advice?

[Fleecewife]

Hi Heather.  Do you have just one nest box in the hut?  It might be worth adding another.  Check for red mite as has been said elsewhere, just in case that's why they don't want to stay in. Other than that I think that for a few days you need to keep them in until they have laid - sounds like it will be a battle of wills    I have had to do this a couple of times with mine which normally free range widely, but right now is when they want to go off and lay a clutch with a view to hatching them, so their biology is ruling them. 

[Sylvia]

Chickens really want to keep their eggs to themselves, they lay in order to hatch out young, not to supply us with eggs so if we take their eggs and they find an alternative site they will take it!
 The only sure option is to give them no choice i.e. keep them in a run with no other place to lay but in a nice, dark , peaceful nest box

[Hermit]

Is the broody settled enough to risk moving her to a broody coop, where she can be lef to rear her young and the other two can have  their house back? We have an old rabbit hutch and run we put our broody plus eggs in and had no probs with them leaving the nest when moved so far.

[Heather]

 ;)thanks for that, Hermit.