# not using nest



## Maggie m (Aug 5, 2020)

my hen is laying under the house instead of in a nest. I have locked her in the house for 3 days and she will lay an egg on the floor. I have used fake eggs to encourage laying in nest and did not work. Let her out she started laying under house again. Now one of the others just started laying under house. What to do?


----------



## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

Close up so they can't get under there until they learn the coop is the preferred space. As long as they can keep getting under the coop they'll keep doing it.

First time layers can be frustrating sometimes.


----------



## Sylie (May 4, 2018)

Sometimes there is just nothing that you can do, they will lay where they want to. My first year of chicken keeping, ages ago, I was in the same fix you are, it was an easter egg hunt every single day. Currently, I have 3 ducks and one of them insists on laying in her swimming pool. Most chickens like to lay in their nests but some just don't and once the idea is in the other's heads, it's a domino effect fest.
Now, that being said, come winter, it could change, they could all lay in the house/coop and the ones that are currently laying in the nests will likely return to the nests when it's too cold.

It sounds like no matter what you do she insists on laying anywhere but the nest, you can do like Robin suggested and close off the underside of the house but depending on your set up, you could be restricting significant run space, you don't want to do that either. 

In time they will most likely start laying in the nest. As they mature.


----------

