appealing nesting boxes

[clucking chicks]

This morning one of my girlies was a bit late laying and I had to pop out. I put her in her large run with a little nesting box but she decided not to use it. When I came home from work and let the girls have a run around the garden, she shot past me into her usual nesting box joined to her coop. Please could you tell me what I can do to make the new box more favourable to Doris? Do all chickens have certain requirements from their nesting boxes or is she just a creature of habbit? Poor thing,I think she had her legs crossed all morning!! :shock:

 

[chrismahon]

They are creatures of habbit. I read of one hen moved for 6 weeks and when returned went straight back to laying in her favorite spot in the barn. You are lucky they lay first thing. None of ours entertain going in the nest box before 11.00am.

Think you need to adjust to them not laying when you expect, as with Winter nearly here, their laying will become erratic anyway. Why is her run not joined to her coop?

 

[Chuck]

Most will use the same nest box all the time until the mood takes them & they change. The natural behaviour is to keep laying in the same nest until a suitable number of eggs are laid, then go broody and sit on them.

 

[clucking chicks]

Thank you for your answers... the coop is not joined to the run because I bought the coop in the summer when we first started with chickens and then realised we needed a safe, enclosed run for them when I am out. As we have a smallish garden I cleared a space at the bottom of the garden and stretched my rubbishy DIY skills to the max and built a run. They can't be joined to each other because the garden is too small.
However, when I win the lottery I am going to buy the girlies a field!!!

 

[Marigold]

Thank you for your answers... the coop is not joined to the run because I bought the coop in the summer when we first started with chickens and then realised we needed a safe, enclosed run for them when I am out.

Well, as I'm sure you've realised, this is the problem. They do regard their coop as 'home', ie a safe place to roost and lay their eggs, and if they don't have access to the coop when they want to lay they don't necessarily want to go anywhere else. It sounds as if you've been doing the same as me, ie letting them out once they've layed for the day, and this is fine except that a hen usually takes about 25 hours to develop an egg so will gradually move on her time of delivery as the week goes on. Mine are OK in their coop + run which is big enough for them all day, but once their 'work' is done they like to go out to 'play' in the garden. Being around most of the time, I tend to keep an eye on what's going on and by midday I let out the ones who have layed, leaving at least 2 together in the run that I think might lay, until they've 'performed.' OK if you're around all day, like me usually, and with only 4 hens.
Is there any possibility of moving the coop into the run, or even placing it up against the side of the run and cutting and fixing the wire round the pophole?

 

[clucking chicks]

Thank you for your suggestions, Marigold.
As I am a supply teacher there is absolutely no pattern to my time at all.. work gets right in the way of life, doesn't it?! I do as you do with your girls now and let them out when they have laid. The only problem with this is sometimes one will have a day off and is stuck in her little run and coop till lunchtime when I give up waiting and let her be free in the garden ! Although I believe that even this is about a zillion times better than being a battery farm chicken.

Great idea about cutting the wire but I don't want to compromise the fox proofing of our coop....