I'm not sure what is going on; but it seems like therei s at least one egg a day that is slightly cracked... its usually on the tip... could a hen be standing up completely and letting it drop out when she lays? suggestions on what to do..we have extra carpeting that we have PLENTY of..we could cut pieces and put in the nest boxes..but we'd have to change them often right?
Is there any way for you to distinguish which egg comes from which hen? by color, size, shape, speckles, etc. How many next boxes do you have? Tell us more about your setup. What are they laying on? bedding? Mine lay on 3-4 inches of pine shavings, and I have actually seen one drop an egg from standing. no problem. I get 4 cubic ft of shavings at Tractor Supply for $4. and this lasts a LONG time. Hens usually wont poop where they lay. I would not bother with carpet. You dont want ANYTHING there for very long. Mites and lice can build up.
Nope; I have too many hens..I have 30 hens, 25 which are laying age...so I have no clue...we are getting about 5-7 a day now.. they just started laying a couple wks ago... The nest boxes are straw/hay whatever one..I cant remember... we have 9 or 10 nest boxes...
The hen is probably scratching the nest material around and then dropping the egg from too high. I had two doing that, ticked me off. I got one of those astroturf doormats and cut it to fit the nestboxes. It's really easy to take it out and hose it off. Carpeting would work, but harder to clean off and you'd have to let it dry thoroughly to prevent mold or mildew.
Not sure if this will help-- in addition to the other ideas, maybe lower the 'roof' on the nest box, so she can't stand up... Just a thought. If you put carpet in the bottom, attach with velcro --- then perhaps you could remove -- hose off or wash. Hope you solve it. Good luck
