cracked egg

[mrz hen]

I found a cracked egg in the nesting box today. This has happened before. You can tell its been sat on coz its flat. Why could it be?
Not enough room or ..........

 

[Cacique500]

Obvious question, but do you have enough nesting material in the box? Mine will scratch down as far as they can and make a "bowl"...which used to leave the bottom of the box exposed...and since they actually stand up at the last second when they're laying, there's a drop involved. In our new nest boxes I have large tupperware containers with about 4 inches of shavings, so it's harder for them to dig all the way down. No cracked eggs since the change.

 

[mrz hen]

Wow good point. Could you take a photo of the Tupperware. I have hay but whenever i put alot they push it out maybe ill put something soft on the bottom

 

[Cacique500]

I'm out of town, but I just checked and they're actually litter boxes for cats...lol. Link to them on Amazon:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0002AT3XS?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o07_s00

They do work great though...and you can see from the dimensions they're 5 inches (127mm) deep...so that leaves plenty of room to fill the boxes up.

Here's the other view from the "chicken" side of the coop:

 

[aart]

Are the shells thin or thick?
If thin pretty easy for them to get stepped on.