Author Topic: laying outside (Read 3806 times)

langdon · « **on:** July 16, 2010, 06:19:15 pm »

some of te girls have decided to start laying outside( to my frustration ).
their nest box has allways got clean straw and free of mites

and i think there is a possible chance that at times something else is getting to the eggs before i do

anyone got any tricks to get them to go back to the box
langdon

cairnhill · « **Reply #1 on:** July 16, 2010, 06:25:12 pm »

Langdon I saw a crow appear from my hen house with an egg in its beak!

langdon · « **Reply #2 on:** July 16, 2010, 06:38:43 pm »

the b*****d !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

langdon

HappyHippy · « **Reply #3 on:** July 16, 2010, 06:57:43 pm »

Yip, I've got magpie's doing the same thing

But luckily for me my nephew is staying with us and he loves using them for target practice with his slug gun - only had 1 direct hit so far, and the cats quickly 'retrieved' it

but the noise is good for scaring them away.

Langdon, I think sometimes they just prefer outside. Hubby had a bantam, used to break out the run and build a nest in a tree before filling it with eggs. Unfortunately I don't have any advice for how to get them back laying inside but someone else is bound to

Daisys Mum · « **Reply #4 on:** July 16, 2010, 07:52:16 pm »

You could try keeping them in for a couple of days, OH made me a scarecrow and now have no crows bothering us.

Fleecewife · « **Reply #5 on:** July 16, 2010, 08:19:52 pm »

We had the same problem here when they wanted to start hatching some offspring. We have got them laying back inside now by leaving them shut in until about midday, by which time most have laid their eggs and we can collect them as soon as we open up. Our sheds are big - 6'x8' so no probs with overcrowding. It took a couple of weeks of that to break the habit of laying outside and of course they could well go back to it. A little bonus or 12 was that two hens had managed to lay full clutches outside before we knew it and eventually came waltzing home with chicks in tow

jacob and Georgina · « **Reply #6 on:** July 16, 2010, 08:25:25 pm »

i have heard that most hens lay eggs before 11 in the morning which seems the case with ours as i go out at 12 and that is almost always all the eggs i will collect that day, so perhaps try leaving them in till midday for a few days till they get used to laying indoors again??

langdon · « **Reply #7 on:** July 16, 2010, 08:29:43 pm »

am going to give that a try, it makes so much sense, wish these little great ideas would
come into me head when needed!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! bring on the eggs ummm
langdon

doganjo · « **Reply #8 on:** July 16, 2010, 09:09:35 pm »

I was told to leave my ducks in till 10 as they'd lay by then. I've always done all my birds together so the hens are in till then too. But some of them don't lay till later. Maybe they just got into the habit of going into the shed to lay becuse of that. Even if I let them out to free range before then I see them going back in to lay.

Hilarysmum · « **Reply #9 on:** July 18, 2010, 06:57:50 pm »

Langdon I know exactly how you feel, I have regular egg orders to fill and have to beat Digby (

) to them otherwise they disappear - and later when he starts becoming gaseous we know where they have gone...

Roxy · « **Reply #10 on:** July 20, 2010, 12:17:57 pm »

Our egg numbers have gone down again. Not sure if its crows, or a rat, or they are laying away. I have tried keeping them in until lunchtime, and still got no eggs.

Sometimes if something has frightened them while laying, they will take it into their head to go and lay somewhere else. Our bantams are very good at laying in the strangest places, and then one day I will come across a massive nest of eggs.

valr · « **Reply #11 on:** July 20, 2010, 09:45:55 pm »

My egg laying has gone right back up again this week. I was worried so started keeping them in for a good feed before letting them out to free range (they were ignoring their pelllets in favour of what they could scoff from the garden/veg patch... Did you know chickens love beetroot? Neither did I until they scoffed the lot)

valr · « **Reply #12 on:** July 20, 2010, 09:47:58 pm »

Forgot to say - found my light sussex sitting on 9 eggs in the middle of my turnips!! Lifted her off to the sound of trmendous protests - but she has gone back to the nest box now. I think the problem was a broody hogging the nest box - she got fed up waiting.
Do you have broodies that are hogging the box and annoyiong the others?

jacob and Georgina · « **Reply #13 on:** July 20, 2010, 10:38:56 pm »

is it working langdon??? Are they laying inside?

langdon · « **Reply #14 on:** July 21, 2010, 10:07:09 pm »

ya something seems to be changing!!! have just about finished worm treatment, last day tomorrow ( flubenvet )
had 6 eggs today, been awhile since i had that amount

langdon

laying outside - The Accidental Smallholder