Does the presence of chickens influence the production of laying hens?

I have 6 laying hens in my backyard, they are rescue hens – In France, breeders get rid of them at 18 months and some NGOs take them and sell them to people who want to rescue them. They lay very little at first as I first had to get them healthy again. The conditions in which they were kept previously were terrible.

Recently I simultaneously made two changes to their environment:

I made a nest out of tall grass in their coop. The idea was to get them laying their eggs in a specific corner that is easier for me to access and pick them up.

Around the same time, I began raising little chickens right beside them, in a separate park but very close.

After both these things the laying hens’ production went crazy. They went from 1 egg every 2 days to 2 to 3 eggs per day. I do want to note 100% of the eggs are now laid in the nest.

Is the nest the only thing responsible for the increase in production or does the presence of the little chickens stimulate some sort of instinct?

I searched the literature but most articles I could find about the conditions/environment of laying hens do not mention the presence of chickens.

Thanks in advance for any interest/replies!

-Matt