2 Maran hens won't lay in nest boxes?

[fishmanwill]

Good evening, I have 3 young French copper marans hens that will not lay in the nest boxes. They are 23 weeks old and one has been laying for about 4-5 weeks already and the other 2 just started. They are a group of 12 pullets(other breeds) from this year and everyone is laying, the Marans just won't lay in the nest box. We also have 10 older hens that are a year and a half old in the same coop. We have 8 nest boxes. Everyone else uses the boxes, just not the marans. I tried everything I can think of. I cleaned the coop completely out and now there is a bare floor (wood) that I clean everyday. I went and bought more golf balls and now have 3-5 golf balls in each nest. I am not home during the day but find their eggs on the floor on the days they lay, and the bad news is that they are normally cracked from hitting the hard floor. The nest boxes have plenty of straw. What else can I do? I need to have them start laying in the boxes so the eggs aren't cracked and so I can add the sawdust back to the floor. They also always lay in the same corner of the coop. Please help. Thanks.

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

Some don't like nestboxes, especially up higher, I personally provide a nest box on the floor for those who prefer it. I don't think you can do much to get them in the boxes. Are you boxes a correct size, which is a foot squared, are they darkened, are you sure they are laying on the floor, some hens will roll or scratch out eggs, make sure you have enough of a lip on your boxes, and lastly maybe try some shavings in a few boxes, they might not like straw. Good luck.

 

[Pork Pie]

Its possible that they feel threatened by the older hens, so they have chosen not to use the nests. Having said that, one of my hens used an outdoor sink to lay! I simply picked her up before she laid and put her in the nest - she got the idea after 2 days. As suggested above, maybe put a nest on the floor? I personally use large plastic basins for my flock, so you don't need to go mad in terms of expense or design!

Good luck!

CT

 

[fishmanwill]

The nest boxes are a foot square they are dark. 4 are about 14" off the ground and the others are 24" off the ground. The corner they are found in is opposite of the nest boxes. There seems to be plenty off nest space and the hens don't seem to fight over them. The rest have taken to the nest boxes, just fine. The odd thing is one of the Maran eggs was in the run today, just in the middle of the dirt in the open. There is a 3-4" lip on the front of the nest box. I wish I could be home during the day to put them in the nest boxes to help show them. I will keep trying. Thanks.

 

[Spartan22]

Sort of weird, 2 of my black copper Marans started doing the same thing, been laying in nests for over a month. The last few days, found eggs in the run and been finding Marans eggs on the coop floor, puzzled?!

 

[Pork Pie]

You may consider keeping your chickens in the coop until lunchtime - this will likely compel the chickens to lay in the nest boxes. Try this for a few days until they develop the habit of laying the in nests.

CT