My five girls have plenty of places to lay their eggs. Where this new 'next' is they used to just like laying there straight on the ground, even though they have a fancy one that Phil made them a couple of years ago. They tend to change their favourite laying spot every month or two.
Sometimes if I change things around in their coop, they get their beaks out of joint and change things too! But this morning I was pleased to find 'someone' (probably Muffin) had laid in their new box!
Even though there is plenty of spots, sometimes chickens like to lay in the same box at the same time!
They don't care whether the box is lined with straw, shredded paper or confetti. As long as it is dry and warm and preferbly dark, then they are happy.
Sometimes they just kind of shove each other out of the way and sit themselves down. The other usually jumps out and finds somewhere else, or comes back later.
You can use almost anything to make a safe nest for your chicken to lay her eggs. These are some cool ones I found on Pinterest! Lots of awesome ideas on there!