Hens hiding eggs?

[WhyDoILikeChickens]

I have a group of pullets only laying for a week or so. They are now using the nesting box instead of random places outside. I have straw in the nesting box. For some strange reason the hens are burying the eggs. For a couple days was nice pile of eggs then I didn't see any. Rummaging around the nest box I found 5 scattered about hidden under different layers of straw. Any insight on why they might be doing this? It's not a big deal but certainly dont want to be digging through straw with my hands hoping I only find eggs and nothing else.
Thanks

 

[featheredplanets]

Are the pullets scratching about in the straw? New layers often kick bedding about trying to build a nest they like.

 

[aart]

Any insight on why they might be doing this?

Yep, new layers can make a real mess of the nests at first. They'll stop doing that after awhile.

It's not a big deal but certainly dont want to be digging through straw with my hands hoping I only find eggs and nothing else.

I experienced that trepidation this morning, I have a couple new layers too, thinking "oh, I hope there's no broken eggs in here....or poops".

 

[WhyDoILikeChickens]

Are the pullets scratching about in the straw? New layers often kick bedding about trying to build a nest they like.

Yes looks like scratching about, I just cant believe how random the eggs are. Some will be fully under the straw in back corner and others different straw layers and corners.
Second group of chickens but first pullets for me.

 

[featheredplanets]

Yes looks like scratching about, I just cant believe how random the eggs are. Some will be fully under the straw in back corner and others different straw layers and corners.
Second group of chickens but first pullets for me.

I’m not sure if they’d purposely bury them. Especially separately. Maybe just some raucous stirring of the bedding? You could always try thinning out the bedding or using carpet if it’s making your eggs dirty.

 

[Susan Dye]

I have a hen house where the 5 hens from my original flock have been laying for the last 3 yrs. There are 3 nesting boxes in there. Sometimes they would all lay in the same box, sometimes there would eggs in each box. Then I got 3 easter eggers this spring. They took their name to heart and hid eggs all kinds of places. They had just started laying this fall, then suddenly no eggs. Except for the clutch of 5 eggs I found under the hen house! I blocked their access to their little hidey hole and they quit laying. So did the other hens. Except for the RIR, who was only laying the occasional egg in the hen house. I figured the older girls were just taking a winter break, even though they had laid year round their first 2 yrs. The bearded ladies? Who knows? They're chickens.
I also have a little coop/with run that I use for grow outs, isolations, boody breaking. It's one of those prefab plastic jobs with the run under the coop. Picked it up really cheap on Craigslist. It has a single nest box, but no one had laid any eggs in it until this week. Now, for some unknown reason, all of the girls have started laying again, including the bearded ones. And, they are all laying in the lil' coop. Winters not over, even though the weather for the most part has been mild. The days are only maybe 10 mins longer. But, hey. I'm not complaining. Lay away ladies!

 

[rosemarythyme]

You could always try thinning out the bedding or using carpet if it’s making your eggs dirty.

x2. Try reducing the amount of bedding but still have a cushion material underneath (cardboard, spare carpet scrap, folded feed bag, commercial nest pads, etc) and see if that helps at least keep the eggs from being buried.