How do you keep your eggs from freezing in the winter?

[julied]

I live in michigan and it freezes up here in winter. How does one go about keeping the eggs from freezing when you have to work all day and cant collect them till you get homein eve. hope this isnt a dumb question. Do ya'll put some kind of heat pad under the nest box?

 

[gkeesling]

this for sure isn't a dumb question. I was wondering the same thing, and have the same issue. I'll be anxious to hear the responses.

 

[sparkles2307]

Ia lso have this same worry. My hens lay at 11:00am, we leave the house at 7 am and dont get home till 5:30 pm.

 

[ArizonaNessa]

I don't think this is a dumb question at all. I myself have never lived in cold country so I just have to wonder if it is cold enough to freeze an egg isn't it too cold for the chickens? I guess I was under the impression that all those snowy coops had some sort of heater in them

 

[Lesa]

I'm in upstate NY, it gets mighty cold up here! I would say unless we have below zero days, you should be fine. If your chickens are like mine, they won't spend much time out in the freezing cold or snow. If there are chickens in the coop, they will keep it warm enough. I am able to pick up eggs throughout the day, but my coop rarely goes below freezing for very long. I would insulate the nesting boxes with an extra portion of hay/straw, so the eggs aren't exposed to the cold air as much. I would not recommend heat. Good luck!

 

[Ken H]

I live in michigan too. Here's my solution. Thermostatically controlled heat lamps and insulated coop. The white is painted 1/4" plywood over the insulation

 

[Wynette]

I live in SE lower MI, and I have to say, I have been somewhat surprised at how few eggs I lose due to freezing. I leave the house around 8 a.m., and get home around 5:30, and in the last 3 years, I've probably lost less than a half dozen eggs to freezing. And, my layer coop is most definitely not insulated, either. Plus, my nest boxes are on the outside of the coop:

 

[ScoobyRoo]

Keep in mind that if you have multiple hens using the same nest box---the eggs are being kept warm by the next hen laying. And that can last most of the day depending on how many laying hens you have. I have yet to have an egg freeze on me.

 

[julied]

Thankyou all for posting your thoughts. I guess i will put that worry out of my mind. Can i eat a frozen egg just peel it like hard boiled egg and scramble it?

 

[Poopie]

I have also been worried about this...we live in the White Mtns of NH...and it can get -30 sometimes for days....so had DH double plywood with foam insulation between all sheets as our boxes are on the outside also...roof of box is also double plywood with insulation between....should this be enough so I dont have to worry about frozen eggs?