Frozen eggs!!!

[kwestley]

It's a very cold day in Anchorage! It was -11F this morning! My coop is insulated but it is still very cold inside the coop, so all my eggs were cracked open and solid frozen!! Arggghhh! At least my chickens are alive and well.

This is my first winter of raising chickens! What do you do to prevent eggs from freezing? I am sure I am not the only peep who has this problem!

 

[Granny Hatchet]

geez, hold a gloved hand under their butt? thats cold !! only thing i know is gather as quickly as you can, possible heat lamp and more straw but not close to each other of course. unless you want some fried chicken? lol

 

[kwestley]

geez, hold a gloved hand under their butt?

I love that idea!!!!

 

[Granny Hatchet]

what kind of chickens do you have? they must be good ones to survive those temps.

 

[kwestley]

I have black sexlink, barred rock, buff Orpington, EE, brahma! The EE just starts laying today and she laid on the poop board, so it was frozen!! I have more luck today because I only have 1 frozen egg out of 7!
The brahma is not laying yet! She is about 30 weeks now!

 

[Granny Hatchet]

I have black sexlink, barred rock, buff Orpington, EE, brahma! The EE just starts laying today and she laid on the poop board, so it was frozen!! I have more luck today because I only have 1 frozen egg out of 7!

The brahma is not laying yet! She is about 30 weeks now!

not bad odds, first eggs get laid every where. i think brahmas are slow to mature

 

[kwestley]

She should have learned from her friends!!! She is the first that needs 'intervention!!' I never have to worry with the other 6 hens! Troublemaker!

not bad odds, first eggs get laid every where. i think brahmas are slow to mature

 

[Granny Hatchet]

is she lowest on the totem pole? maybe she was waiting for a spot and well, you know. when you gotta ya gotta.heheh

 

[Utard]

I just had a few frozen ones also this morning. 8 degrees. They did not pop but I did the spin and two of three spun like a hard boiled egg does.

You said they are laying around? I found some rocks at a garage sale that had been shaped and polished into the shape of an egg. I put those in the nesting boxes and my chickens have not layed outside of the boxes at all. So that trick worked very well. You can also do this with wooden eggs. Now if my americanas would just start laying.

 

[sepaditty1]

Do you guys think that the cookie tin heater would be safe in the nest box? Or does it get too hot?