chicken laying from roost

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eggsited chickens

eggsited chickens

Songster
10 Years
May 15, 2009
328
5
129
SW Michigan
For the past 4 mornings we go inside and find an egg laying on the floor. the first time it wasn't broke, but since then it has been. We try to get out there before 7:30, which is before it's light. I'm tired of this...I want that egg.
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just thought i'd vent a little.
 
Sometimes that happens here. I think in the middle of the night they don't like to get off the roost in the dark. Hopefully her internal clock will reset. Do you have any golf balls ect.. in the nest boxes? That might help.
 
We've had two doing that for the past month - last week we put a light with a timer on it in the coop to come on before it gets light, and that does seem to be helping. I only found one on the floor this morning. Going to set it back another 30 minutes to come on a little earlier. We figure that the days are getting shorter, and since they all usually lay in the morning, they haven't adjusted to it yet.
 
There for a while,every morning I'd go to let the chickens out and I'd have 1-2 on the ground under the roost(with shells) Luckily,my chickens sleep out side on their roost,so they fall to the grass and don't break. But,I'd also have 1-2 shellless eggs under their roost. So,last week I added oyster shell to their feed,and for the last 3 days they haven't laid any eggs at night.
 
It's a pretty strong egg that can survive a fall from a roost! I think the idea of putting lots of cushioning of whatever bedding you use under there is good. I've found some eggs on the floor under the roost (especially in the pullets' coop), but I think they were actually laid on the floor, not from the roost. So far none have been broken. Unfortunately, that's where it's the poopiest. Why do they do that when there are clean areas to lay in?

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Laying from the roost can happen for several reasons. If it's a young hen or stubborn hen, it may just be that she is holding it back for some reason and didn't put it in the nest. As she relaxes for bed, the egg comes out while roosted. Do you have enough nest boxes that they feel secure to lay in?

It can also be caused by disruptions or being startled in the night. It is claimed that rodents rustling around cause hens to drop eggs at night, but I'd imagine anything that startles them can make this happen.
 
I did try golfballs...didn't seem to work for me. Most of them do it (lay an egg in the nest box) but some just don't, but I'm not going to sit for 8 hours and watch 28 hens lay an egg
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so i can't show them the nest I either. I did try to pile the bedding up, but I guess that wasn't good enough...I'll try again tonight. I want to get the light on a timer, but it's in a difficult place in our basement and so i have to have some time to get up into it. Patience...that's what i need
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