keep your chickens in your chicken coupe and don't let them roam. once they have established their nesting grounds you can let them out in a month or so but at night back in the coupe. what are you feeding them for laying eggs?

I think that chicken if nervous about something in the hen house, might feel it is safer outside. Check it out,maybe you have rats?

Hi,
We have about 25 Chickens and when they start laying all over the place we lock them in the hen yard. It is a small area about 20 x 24 that we have fenced that is next to the hen house. They relearn to lay in the hen house. But we have to do this 2 or 3 times a year. Also we only feed them in in the hen yard.
Hope this helps. Jessy.

put straw in the nests and lock them in the chicken house for a few days. Best if nests are above ground. make sure there is nothing getting inside like snakes to scare them from being inside.

your really weird

My father used top raise 1000 laying hens and we sold eggs by the hundreds. But something must be scaring your chrickens. We never had much trouble. As long as their wings were not cut and their were roosts near the nests for them to land on as they flew up.
Hens that sit can be stopped from sitting by putting them in a cage with food and water.