Dummy egg or golf ball etc.

[2overeasy000]

I used a golf ball in the nest boxes to show my hens where I wanted them to lay and it worked great. My ? is now that they are all laying do I need to keep the golf ball out there? Or can I drive it in the woods(where all my drives have been going lately).

 

[chickens friend]

The hens if already laying their should continue laying their if the balls are gone, but if you are afraid of them maybe eventually egg eating then the balls will help deter them from eating their own eggs. Don't ask me why this deters them from eating their eggs but it just does. On a side note if you want to keep nest eggs in the nest but want you golf balls back then take plastic Easter eggs and put in their place, I took Easter eggs apart and filled them with plaster then let the plaster set and used the plaster eggs for nest eggs.

 

[nanawendy]

The golf balls in the nest for egg eating prevention .... They peck @ the golf ball and OUCH

no juicy eggie. Hopefully it detours them. The key is to collect eggs often, several times daily.

 

[StrayMagnet]

Quote:

that is a awsome idea!!

I have oodles and oodles and OODLES of plastic eggs.. I crochet and make Egg cozy's around the plastic eggs and turn them into cat toys and sell them.
that would make sense i can do that.. WHen the chicks get bigger and start to lay.. I want to encourage them to lay in certian areas where I can get to them easy. and not on the ground where chick chick had her babys.

 

[Nonny]

This reminds me of a vet show I saw on tele the other night about someone who had used a beautiful marble egg carved with tribal animal designs from Tanzania (I think?) as their "dummy egg" in the nest box, but a snake got into the run and ate it, so they had to operate on the snake to get the egg out or it would have died. (And of course to get the marble egg back LOL)

I guess the moral is, don't use a fake egg that you have sentimental attachment to.

 

[CowgirlPenny]

Fake eggs half off at Hobby Lobby. Like 74 cents each. I bought one for each nestbox. No issues. Infact the next day we had two extra eggs. I guess they feel like the nestboxes are safe.

 

[groundpecker]

I left the golf balls in the next boxes. I don't see how it could hurt the chickens. I have never had a problem with my hens eating eggs, so as a precaution i leave them in. I did catch a snake in the wire on his out of the run, it got stuck from eating the golf ball.

 

[2overeasy000]

The main reason I took the golf ball out was because of a broody BO. I think we all know how broody BO can be right? I mean especially in this kind of heat. Anyhow, I drove the ball into a pond anyway. Never should have went for a par 5 in two. I guess I was lucky to grab it before a snake. I will be keeping an eye out for egg eating, thanks for the tip.

 

[cmom]

I use golf balls and have never had any issues with using them. Since I raise and sell birds I have a pretty good turnover so I just leave the golf balls in the nest boxes. I don't let my broodies hatch. I collect my fertile eggs and incubate them, this way I can plan my hatches. Right now my boys are on strike lately I think because of the heat.

 

[DanEP]

I just leave the golf balls in the boxes. It doesn't seem to bother the girls and Iv'e never had a problem with egg eating. Also seems to help with new layers knowing where to lay, between watching the older girls and the golf balls they have always started out laying in the boxes. I don't know if the golf balls are really needed at this point but I figure if it aint broke I aint fixin it.
The only problem I've ever had with them is one broody BO stealing golf balls to sit on. How she got 5 golf balls from the bottom boxes to the top I'll never know but I guess better balls than eggs.