Found 11 eggs in hiding spot-not in coop!

[Citychick11]

I have 5 laying hens and usually get 3-5 eggs a day. Last week, I started getting 1-2 eggs a day and I wondered what happened. I heard the girls cackling across the yard (we have 2 acres) so I went to see where they were. Found a collection of 11 eggs that had probably been there a week or less. I'm so mad! I need to figure out how to stop this right now!

1. How do I get them to stop laying in the yard?
2. Are the eggs fresh enough to eat?
3. Did they start doing this because we put the 5 week-old babies out in the "nursery" part of the coop? The heat lamp was visible to the girls in their roost, so maybe they didn't sleep as well?

Thanks,
Teresa

 

[Peeps61]

I free range my hens. For the most part, they lay in the coop. Once in a while, they will lay on a hay bale right behind the coop. If I find eggs elsewhere, they stay in the coop for a few days until they get used to laying in there once more. That usually corrects the problem for a while, then they will try other places again. As far as the eggs being good, try the float test. If they float, throw them out. If they sink, they are probably OK, if it's just been a week.

 

[foreverlearning]

Great advise above! Here is a chart for the float test. Right click on the picture to save it to your computer for future reference: