- Feb 20, 2010
- 3
- 0
- 7
Weve recently added 4 new pullets to our flock for a total of 7. All 7 are laying now. Theyve established their pecking order now, and the older birds have stopped abusing the pullets.
The problem were having now is that weve had a couple of egg-eating incidents. Im anxious to nip this problem in the bud.
We have a two-story coop. The upstairs is an enclosed coop area (4'x6'). The downstairs is an open air run that is twice that size (8'x6'). All the birds roost upstairs at night. The older birds come downstairs in the morning, but the pullets tend to hang out upstairs during the day.
Food and water are both freely available, but both are downstairs in the open-air dirt-floor portion of the coop (it seems like putting water upstairs with the plywood floor is just asking for mold and rot problems).
Ive considered removing the nesting box from upstairs, and building a new one below in the run area. But Im wondering if pullets would still stay upstairs and just lay their eggs on the floor . . . and then eat them.
By late afternoon, all the birds make it downstairs. But the pullets spend most of the day peeking down into the run, looking like they desperately want to come downstairs. But theyre just big fat chickens (couldnt resist the pun) and are afraid to come down. When they eventually do come downstairs, everything is fine. The older birds dont abuse them. But if they keep eating eggs, none of that will matter.
Any suggestions on how to help the pullets integrate into the flock, and stop the egg-eating?
The problem were having now is that weve had a couple of egg-eating incidents. Im anxious to nip this problem in the bud.
We have a two-story coop. The upstairs is an enclosed coop area (4'x6'). The downstairs is an open air run that is twice that size (8'x6'). All the birds roost upstairs at night. The older birds come downstairs in the morning, but the pullets tend to hang out upstairs during the day.
Food and water are both freely available, but both are downstairs in the open-air dirt-floor portion of the coop (it seems like putting water upstairs with the plywood floor is just asking for mold and rot problems).
Ive considered removing the nesting box from upstairs, and building a new one below in the run area. But Im wondering if pullets would still stay upstairs and just lay their eggs on the floor . . . and then eat them.
By late afternoon, all the birds make it downstairs. But the pullets spend most of the day peeking down into the run, looking like they desperately want to come downstairs. But theyre just big fat chickens (couldnt resist the pun) and are afraid to come down. When they eventually do come downstairs, everything is fine. The older birds dont abuse them. But if they keep eating eggs, none of that will matter.
Any suggestions on how to help the pullets integrate into the flock, and stop the egg-eating?