Freezing Eggs

[IdyllwildAcres]

If you have electricity in your coop a seedling mat under the nest pad with a thermocube should do the trick....


Gary

 

[FlyWheel]

Another thing you can do is get some closed-cell insulating foam* and some thin plywood. Cut both to fit the floor of the nesting boxes, place the foam in the bottom and the wood on top of it to protect it (from both 'dirt' and chicken beaks). This will insulate the floor of the boxes and cannot be scratched/shoved away.

*Try a foam camping pad, available cheap in the camping section of your local X-Mart

P.S. Good luck on your ride, Gary. I did that SF-LA run back in '77, and it was quite beautiful.

 

[Beekissed]

I use deep straw in nests and even that's not enough insulation to keep eggs from freezing after a few hours at 0F.
Hens can often keep them warm during peak laying hours in the favorite nests.
Am grateful to be able to gather frequently......
.....cause ain't getting many eggs this time of year and I need them all to pay for feed.

If you have power in your coop you could always go the way @RonP did:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/heated-nesting-boxes-help-stop-frozen-eggs

Aart, I tried straw once when I couldn't get my hands on hay right away and found that the straw can't be formed into a nice bowl shape that seems to keep the eggs down inside the insulating aspect of the hay. Usually I would find the hens had tried so hard to form that straw into a nest shape that the eggs were sitting on the bare wood at the bottom. Hay ends to conform and hold the shape better, thereby keeping the eggs down in the hay and well insulated, but still having a good 4 in. of hay between the eggs and the bare wood. You might try hay instead of straw. My eggs don't freeze at subzero temps, even when being in the coop all day long...and that's with large cracks in the outside access doors, letting in the cold air.

 

[aart]

Quote: Nope, it's definitely straw, good thick flake holds bowl shape well.
Eggs are still exposed to air temp above....if only they'd 'bury' them for me...hahaha!

 

[lazy gardener]

I use mulch hay. First cut cost more.

If the egg is not split open from freezing solid it's good to go. Some get frozen in winter but really, how many days are daytime temps that low in a winter? Ten maybe and you lose half the eggs perhaps on those days. It's not a big deal.

That depends on how far north you are!!!

 

[riversedgefarms]

Thank you for all the tips!! We are definitely going to try the different options out. We are in northwestern Ontario so it gets really cold up here. It's minus 30 with the windchill today.

 

[aart]

Thank you for all the tips!! We are definitely going to try the different options out. We are in northwestern Ontario so it gets really cold up here. It's minus 30 with the windchill today.

Minus 30C or F?
Windchill doesn't really count inside a coop.

 

[IdyllwildAcres]

Another thing you can do is get some closed-cell insulating foam* and some thin plywood. Cut both to fit the floor of the nesting boxes, place the foam in the bottom and the wood on top of it to protect it (from both 'dirt' and chicken beaks). This will insulate the floor of the boxes and cannot be scratched/shoved away.

*Try a foam camping pad, available cheap in the camping section of your local X-Mart

P.S. Good luck on your ride, Gary. I did that SF-LA run back in '77, and it was quite beautiful.

Thanks! This will be my 5th time, I need to get training again and fundraising, I have to raise at least 3K to go on the ride its hard work but an incredible week.

Gary

 

[riversedgefarms]

Degrees Celsius

 

[ChickChic45]

It's 0 to -1 in our coop and we've been experiencing freezing eggs. We collected some at 10 and then again at 3:30. At 3:30 we had 5 frozen eggs. Any ideas on what we could to do prevent this? We have wood shavings down in the nesting boxes.

It has been below zero here lately and I keep a radiator heater in the coop. What are the Pros and Cons of heating?