I have two cockerels in with a pen of 11 hens. One of them will NOT stay out of the nest boxes. He constantly bugs any hen that might be in there trying to lay an egg. I have been getting more and more broken and eaten eggs. I thought it was the hens breaking them but when I watch closely they will lay and hop out of the nest. Of course if there is a broken egg it is buffet time! lol Nerds...
I started looking up plans on building roll away nest boxes. I blew out 3 eggs and put that no pick brown tar stuff inside the eggs and sealed them with some wax. I put them in the next boxes. While I was watching, the dork cockerel jumped up there and started scratching and scratching and actually flung one of the loaded eggs out of the next box onto the ground. All the hens ran to the egg but the kinda half heartedly pecked at it and did not really seem to be a pro at cracking it open. Later I found 2 of those loaded eggs broken. They had to taste terrible.
So I took that cockerel out and put him in a pen by himself. I left the one that does not seem interested in the nest boxes at all. We shall see if this helps things... my next option I guess is to remove existing nest boxes and go ahead with my plans for the roll away boxes.
Dumb chickens...
I started looking up plans on building roll away nest boxes. I blew out 3 eggs and put that no pick brown tar stuff inside the eggs and sealed them with some wax. I put them in the next boxes. While I was watching, the dork cockerel jumped up there and started scratching and scratching and actually flung one of the loaded eggs out of the next box onto the ground. All the hens ran to the egg but the kinda half heartedly pecked at it and did not really seem to be a pro at cracking it open. Later I found 2 of those loaded eggs broken. They had to taste terrible.
So I took that cockerel out and put him in a pen by himself. I left the one that does not seem interested in the nest boxes at all. We shall see if this helps things... my next option I guess is to remove existing nest boxes and go ahead with my plans for the roll away boxes.
Dumb chickens...
