Egg and nesting box issues

[Moges amha]

My chickens started lay 2 weeks ago and now i have new problems. Frist is even if i have plenty of nexting box i still get 15-20% floor egg consistently at the same spot and the second is 4 or 5 chickens goin into the same box at the same time even though their are other nexting boxes how can i stop that and can it cause problem. The third is my egg gets cracked and i dont know how thats happening but i have seen some curious chickens peacking at eggs from thine to time

 

[3KillerBs]

Floor eggs are normal for new layers, who are still working out what is happening to their bodies.

Piling into the same box is normal chicken behavior at any time.

Do you have some kind of fake egg in the boxes? That can help clue them in as to where they ought to be laying?

 

[Sally PB]

When my girls first started, they laid in a spot on the floor. I put some pieces of wood there, and they just moved to a spot next to that.

I took the nest box off the wall where it was mounted, put it in the first spot they had chosen, and put the piece of wood in the second spot where they had laid. Voila. They laid in the nest box.

I left the nest box there on the floor for a week. All the eggs were in the box. After that, I started raising the box up a few inches every couple days by putting it on bricks. When it was as high as it had been on the wall, I remounted it to the wall.

 

[Moges amha]

Floor eggs are normal for new layers, who are still working out what is happening to their bodies.

Piling into the same box is normal chicken behavior at any time.

Do you have some kind of fake egg in the boxes? That can help clue them in as to where they ought to be laying?

No i dont have fakw eggs i just put in the ones day laid the day b4 but i stop that cause they peck on them and i didnt want to make a habit put of that. Sone times i find 4 chikens in a 30x30x30 cm box just chilling

 

[Moges amha]

When my girls first started, they laid in a spot on the floor. I put some pieces of wood there, and they just moved to a spot next to that.

I took the nest box off the wall where it was mounted, put it in the first spot they had chosen, and put the piece of wood in the second spot where they had laid. Voila. They laid in the nest box.

I left the nest box there on the floor for a week. All the eggs were in the box. After that, I started raising the box up a few inches every couple days by putting it on bricks. When it was as high as it had been on the wall, I remounted it to the wall.

That was very lever but i cnt do that cause frist the nesxting box are big like 2 meters big so i cnt but it any were unless against the wall

 

[3KillerBs]

No i dont have fakw eggs i just put in the ones day laid the day b4 but i stop that cause they peck on them and i didnt want to make a habit put of that. Sone times i find 4 chikens in a 30x30x30 cm box just chilling

Even round rocks will do for fake eggs. Chickens always like to lay where other chickens have laid before.

 

[TOR]

Easter is coming a plastic easter egg will work
The egg shell may be thin is why they are cracking. The cracked eggs are probably from the chickens moving and stepping on the eggs.
The chickens will peck at the egss, but normally do not crack or break them.
Could also be the chickens are young layers and the eggs are thin, but I am not sure on this. One of the chicken experts would know more.

 

[TheAlrightyGina]

You can always candle the eggs to see if they are thin, as thin eggs also tend to be porous (both problems often being caused by low calcium in the diet). If there are a whole bunch of light spots when you candle, you probably need to up the calcium. If you have any heavy breeds, they are also more prone to accidentally cracking eggs. I wouldn't worry about your chickens pecking at the eggs--they're new layers, so it's just curiosity.

As for all of them climbing into the same box...I know that feel. I have 6 nest boxes up for mine. Most of them use one, a couple use another, and the Silkies like the one I put on the floor for those who kept hiding their eggs in the straw. I always laugh when I go out and hear two (or more) hens singing their egg song, cause it's always one hen in the box, and the others standing on the roosts waiting impatiently to get in.