how to keep eggs from freezing in nesting box!?

[silkymom]

well it was -11 when i got up this morning, the water was almoast frozen and the coop cold, sorry ive done this for over 25 yrs, and no fires, i dont want my birds colder than they have to be, it works for me, is all i can say i only said what i do, good luck,

 

[hennygirls]

well I have one of my 21 hens laying her egg on the floor too,I try to stay out there at times to see which one it is ,but never catch her and if I did i would just set her in the box and tell her this is where you drop it next time henny...lol I really have no idea why she never tried the boxes,and if i ever figure out why or a remedy i will check back here. have a nice day..

 

[Jsisso]

We have 17 birds and avg 11 eggs a day. Not bad for winter. We just acquired 5 more hens that we slowly intergraded and they layer the first night we got them with the exception of one that had to be placed in time out until she learned to get along. We have 5 cockerels all sharing the same house. We let them outside when the temp gets 25 and change their bedding once a week. I'm surprised how much more food the eat in the winter! This month I bought 8-50lb bags we feed them oatmeal with meal worms or yogart and We use a water heater to keep the water from freezing. From their coop we cut a hole in my garage wall and made a place the length of my work bench that the love to nest and lay their eggs. We homeschool so are able to check for the eggs every hour but there is always one rebel that hides her egg and its freezes. Never thought to cook it up to give to the dogs or back to the hens, great idea! I find that they take turns laying in the same spot which keeps the eggs from freezing and many times I have to move them to get the eggs. This is our first winter and I'm like a mother hen worrying if the are cold etc but so far they are spoiled rotten, happy lil girls and boys.

 

[yooper coop]

I was talking to a friend of mine that has a fairly large farm, he told me the other night that he would be concerned about turning the hens into egg eaters. He has had egg eaters in the past and if not nipped in the bud the other hens will learn the bad habbit. He said cook up the cracked ones from extreme cold and the frozen ones are just fine if thawed out in the fridge. Being so bitterly cold this week a bunch of my eggs were frozen. I thawed in fridge and cooked some up. They were just fine to eat.

 

[yooper coop]

Cracked ones cook up for dog I meant. Not for chickens or poeple.

 

[yellowchicks]

So far this winter we have 2 frozen cracked eggs, not too bad for a week of high temps in the teens, and lows in the single digits at night. We have an insulated roll away nest box. All sides and bottoms are insulated, but the front portion of the nest box has open vents, so the temperature is pretty much the same as outside. The back half of the nest box could be slightly warmer since it is shield with a rubber tire curtain to block the cold air. If the eggs roll to the back half of the nest box, they are usually ok, cold to touch but not frozen. We usually collect the eggs once a day during the mid morning.

 

[RayJ]

I have 4 Buff ORP and 2 started laying on Xmas eve. They are all 32 weeks old. Do I have to worry about the other 2 being egg bound??? Or are the just not ready?

 

[mandy123]

Eggs freezing.... had that problem last year for 2 weeks. ran the extension cord to the nest boxes and attached two water heater pads underneath the shavings Use a 14 or 16 gauge cord or even 12. But not up to 18 gauge. It will overheat. I then got a three cord receptacle and plugged them in. Doesn't seem to overheat for i think it is set for keeping water at 40-45 degrees. It solved my problem. Oh I limited them to two next boxes and closed the other two. No problem!!Eggs were good.

 

[mandy123]

You an also add more shavings and then take a piece of plywood and just make a round hole that fits the chicken no larger. They seem to go in once their heads are in the box.

 

[1chickendog142]

I know this is going to sound kinda funny,but here goes, when I was building my coop I wanted to just use what I had on hand (Frugal gal here ) , I had a 6 station nesting box with the wood flip down ramps but I had 23 hens that were to share these, so sometimes there was a waiting line. LOL I live in an old trailer and my 40 year old double oven went out. I put this in my coop for two very nice, big, well insulated, extra nest boxes and they love to sit on the open oven doors. Now my hens prefer the ovens and many times I will find two hens in one oven and both will be laying together. So the old saying is true, one woman's junk is also my hen's TREASURE !