Hi everyone, So my chickens for some reason don't like to lay in their nesting boxes. They decide to just drop them anywhere ... and usually, the eggs get soiled. How do you recommend that I best clean and store them? Also, if I'm not able to collect them right away and it's over 90 degrees outside, is there a point those eggs are not good? I've tried to research from different sources but I've seen some conflicting info ... thank you!
I only wash my dirty eggs right before I eat them. When I worked in the commercial egg business in Southern Calif, we collected twice a day. Once in the morning and once in the afternoon and it was that hot or hotter. I pick my eggs up in the morning before I go to work and in the evening when I get home. We have had some hot days and I have not seen a decrease in quality.
I think the thing you'll want to figure out is why they're not using the nest boxes. If you can get them to lay in the boxes then dirty eggs will no longer be a problem. If you post photos of your set up maybe folks can help you find a solution.
When they're in the coop, they lay in the nesting boxes but when I put them in their larger outdoor playpen so they can forage and be entertained during the day (especially when it gets hot), they don't use the nesting boxes I set up in the playpen. Instead, they opt to lay everywhere else inside that playpen. I've tried putting fake eggs and golf balls in the outdoor nesting box but they're not buying it. I'm not horribly upset as these hens are like pets to me and more important that they're happy and comfortable than their eggs ... but it would be nice to enjoy those eggs every now and then.
I wonder what you are using to control Red Mites. Chickens often refuse to lay in a nest that is badly infected with mites.
That's what I'm thinking, Chickens usually become comfortable with one box and will lay only in that box. That's why experienced coop builders only put in a few next boxes instead of one for each hen. I have ten hens but my coop only has two boxes and guess what? All my hens lay in just one of them! If your birds had free access to their normal coop laying boxes I'd be willing to bet that even when they were in their playpen they would probably still return their coop box when the urge to lay hits them.
OK, so I left the coop open and just let them free range while I was gardening outside today and they did indeed run back to the coop to lay ... so mystery solved! Seems they simply prefer their coop nesting box or nothing. Thanks everyone! I learn something new every day!
