How long to keep dummy eggs in the nest boxes?

[fiddlebanshee]

I have 14 pullets that are nearing or at POL. About a month ago I put golf balls and wooden eggs in the nest boxes to clue them in on where they were supposed to lay.

Two of them are laying and have found the nestboxes and are laying there. The other 12 are getting close to laying as evidenced by reddening and growing combs and wattles and submissive attitutes (squatting). Now that the two are laying, do I need to keep the dummy eggs in there just a while longer until all or most of them are laying? When did you take them out? I'm getting tired of having to put the dummy eggs back into the boxes after some of the girls play ball with them.

 

[kari_dawn]

I left mine in up until the point of one of my girls going broody then removed them (now Im kicking myself for it...my new chick shipment arrived at the time her clutch would have hatched if it was fertile!).

I would leave them in there till most of yours are laying just to be on the safe side

 

[A.T. Hagan]

I leave mine in for the first month or so to be sure they've all got the idea then I take them out. There's no set time. If they are all laying where they should then you're good.

 

[lokua]

I left them in until the 2 that were laying started tossing them out of the nest every day. I got sick of digging them out of bedding so I took them out. The first 2 have showed the rest where to lay just fine.

 

[CarolJ]

I just put mine back in because suddenly I had a hen start laying in the sand under the roosts - pecking/cracking and then eating the egg. Then I found a cracked and eaten egg in one of the nest boxes. So I put the glass eggs back in - hoping they'll peck one of them and decide that eating eggs isn't a fun thing to do after all. So far - no more eaten eggs or eggs in the sand. But it's only been two days. I might keep them in there permanently.

 

[7L Farm]

It's your call I leave some in & seems I'm always building more coops so I move some too the new coops.I need to mark them. I sold one to a customer she brought it back & I replaced it for her. I gave her a few extras & apologized .I had this guy eat one.

 

[suebee]

I have 14 pullets that are nearing or at POL.  About a month ago I put golf balls and wooden eggs in the nest boxes to clue them in on where they were supposed to lay.

Two of them are laying and have found the nestboxes and are laying there.  The other 12 are getting close to laying as evidenced by reddening and growing combs and wattles and submissive attitutes (squatting).  Now that the two are laying, do I need to keep the dummy eggs in there just a while longer until all or most of them are laying?  When did you take them out?  I'm getting tired of having to put the dummy eggs back into the boxes after some of the girls play ball with them.

Where do you buy wooden eggs? Love to have some.

That snake pic gives me the willys.

 

[CarolJ]

I got mine from eBay - they are ceramic, though - not wooden.

 

[kuntrygirl]

I keep mine in at all times for just that reason that 7L Farm has that pic posted of that snake.

 

[kuntrygirl]

I got mine from eBay - they are ceramic, though - not wooden.

I need to get the ceramic eggs because my hens are literally breaking into the fake eggs that I have in there now. :/