Eggs freezing???

[chickencrazylady]

Live up in Northern Alberta, Canada. First winter with chickens, at least 2 of my hens have just started laying. Had to go to town yesterday around 2:45 p.m. and before I left, I checked the coop, and collected 1 egg. I was back home at 6:30 p.m. and went to check on my chickens and in the first laying box right by the door was another egg! Frozen and cracked. It was not there when I left earlier. Only have an 60 watt light on during the day and really don't want to supplement with an heat lamp. We up here can get mighty cold during the winters and if the weather at the moment is mild (only around -12), what is going to happen to the eggs at -30!!!! Help, what am I doing wrong!!

 

[SilkieChickenLover336]

-12 mild? UR CRAZY!! Lol here thts I'm never gonna leave my house!

 

[aoxa]

Quote:
That is Celsius.

That is still not mild to me

WE are at +4 today. -12 is not even average for January. (Eastern Canada).

I hear you guys are getting a bad winter so far!

I have no idea how to keep eggs from freezing, but I would like to know.

 

[ChickieBooBoo]

chickencrazylady, I live in Manitoba and we often get similar temps. When it gets really cold you just gotta go out and check for eggs every few hours to get them before they freeze, or have a heated coop. Some people get lucky and have a broody hen that sits on the eggs to keep them warm, but I never have.

@SilkieChickenLover336, when the winter temps are after around -30C (-22F), -12 is pretty darn warm!

 

[ChickieBooBoo]

Quote:
So jealous!

Although, I really can't complain, its only -8 here! Funny, cause just last week the night time lows were in the -25 range. Make up your mind, weather!

 

[aoxa]

Quote:
So jealous!

Although, I really can't complain, its only -8 here! Funny, cause just last week the night time lows were in the -25 range. Make up your mind, weather!

I know! We have temps that are really fluctuating right now (not to the cold extreme yours are), but really.. Our coldest yet was -16 overnight so far. We don't have any snow. Last week we got 15mm of rain. It was +15 that day.

 

[ChickieBooBoo]

Quote:
So jealous!

Although, I really can't complain, its only -8 here! Funny, cause just last week the night time lows were in the -25 range. Make up your mind, weather!

I know! We have temps that are really fluctuating right now (not to the cold extreme yours are), but really.. Our coldest yet was -16 overnight so far. We don't have any snow. Last week we got 15mm of rain. It was +15 that day.

We have snow, but not nearly the amount we usually have at this time of the year. Who knows, maybe we'll actually have a Christmas where the grass is showing in places!

 

[chickencrazylady]

2 weeks ago the temps here were -25 with windchill to -40, not typical for December, generally we get the really cold weather in mid Jan to early Feb. Hardly any snow so far also. Wish I could figure out why that egg froze so quickly, in only 3 hours, I have an oil heater that is in the front of my coop door maybe I should just bit the bullet and keep it on low 24/7. Hubby is fighting me on the electricity I am using for the chickens, he just doesn't get the chicken thing, to him there just eggs, or meat, not entertainment and children!!! Okay my name should say it well on this site.

 

[ailurophile23]

Any way to move nest boxes away from the door? Or insulate the boxes and/or the door? All the other options I can think of use electricity. Good luck! And keep us updated - I am always looking for ingenious solutions to this problem as I had too many eggs freeze last winter.

 

[<3 N.C Chicken Chick <3]

Thats cold (Christmas it was close to the 70 deggree mark) ! Crazy chicken lady you have silkies correct. Maby you could let one go broody, and collect the eggs from her. My silkie hen snow was broody and when I would take the egg she would so and phisically move others to sit on. Portable heat??