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Keep nesting box neater?

post #1 of 12
10/26/11 at 5:37pm
Thread Starter 

A minor, but irritating issue here.

I have a two-space nesting box that has a lip and I fill it with wood shavings. It seems they LOVE to scratch around and knock out the shavings, so the eggs are dropping right on the cardboard, which is fine I guess.  But the shavings are falling through the slatted floor into the poop drawers. 

So are the shavings really needed? (I bought a giant 10 cu ft bag long ago so I can't just switch to hay)

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post #2 of 12
10/26/11 at 5:40pm

I would say yes, I had a similar problem and I kept getting dirty eggs and sometimes broken ones. I ended up adding a larger lip and hay and problem solved!

Chicken attack!!!!!!!
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Chicken attack!!!!!!!
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post #3 of 12
10/26/11 at 5:41pm

A friend of mine uses a piece of outdoor carpet, the green carpet stuff.... Just rinse when dirty, soft spot for eggs to land in.

Chickens, I need more chickens.... and ducks too, yeah some ducks too!

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Chickens, I need more chickens.... and ducks too, yeah some ducks too!

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post #4 of 12
10/26/11 at 5:42pm
Thread Starter 

I was thinking of making a whole new box with a bigger lip. If I add a bigger one to this one, the opening would shrink down so I don't want to do that. What's a good measure? 4 inch lip?

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post #5 of 12
10/26/11 at 5:42pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by mommissan 

A friend of mine uses a piece of outdoor carpet, the green carpet stuff.... Just rinse when dirty, soft spot for eggs to land in.


like astroturf?

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post #6 of 12
10/26/11 at 5:44pm
Thread Starter 

you know what? I have a big sheet of astroturf covering my wood, something left behind by owners. I could cut a piece of that and lay it over the shavings. That way it's still cushy but nothing spills out

Might not work at all, but I'll try

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post #7 of 12
10/26/11 at 5:47pm

I add more shavings I want the girls to be comfortable while they are laying.

I'm out of eggs. But I know where some brown ones are. I now raise big Ol' Honkin' Bob Whites & Layed back Coturnix. Pray For Rain In Texas!

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I'm out of eggs. But I know where some brown ones are. I now raise big Ol' Honkin' Bob Whites & Layed back Coturnix. Pray For Rain In Texas!

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post #8 of 12
10/26/11 at 6:20pm

I have shavings on the floor and hay in the nest boxes for just this reason.  I got tired of broken eggs and no shavings left in the nests.  Hay works much better and I also stopped getting eggs layed in the corner on the floor.  smile

Mom to 3 cats, 2 dogs (oops make that 5, just had 3 puppies born this week, 4 goats, 8 guineas, and  50+ chickens.
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Mom to 3 cats, 2 dogs (oops make that 5, just had 3 puppies born this week, 4 goats, 8 guineas, and  50+ chickens.
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post #9 of 12
10/26/11 at 6:24pm
Thread Starter 

well my floor is slatted, so i don't want anything on it. Although the very first night they laid one on the floor and the egg fit right in the slat space.

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post #10 of 12
10/30/11 at 8:24pm
Thread Starter 

i tried laying the astroturf over the shavings. They scratched out the turf and made a nest again. Dang. I tried putting it back in to see what's gunna happen.

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