how to keep eggs from freezing in nesting box!?

[leanna1120]

Leanna, mine were about that. I had to close all the drafts to the coop, and put a light on a twelve hour timer. Also I had to turn a heat lamp on. Now the slash two days I'm getting 5 eggs a day. Only one on the floor frozen and cracked today. Barred rocks, buff orpingtons and one amauricana. And a big ol blue copper Moran rooster.

Yooper I considered adding light but decided to let them mature naturally this first year. Not sure that makes a difference but just what I decided. My coop is draft free, but I don't want to do the added heat. I guess maybe it's not so bad not having eggs yet if they would be freezing anyhow!!

 

[yooper coop]

Tell ya what, it's like Christmas morning every day finally getting eggs. Just a couple dollars more and all that chick feed is paid for in eggs. Even sion chord and a small bulb. Eggs will come.good luck

 

[eagle227]

I have a question. How do you tell if an eggs is frozen if the shell is not cracked. I have 15 Buff Orphingtons and 10 New Hampshire Reds they just started laying this week and our temperatures have been -25 with the wind chill. The coop is pretty solid not much wind can get in.I am getting 7 to 10 eggs a day now. In cold weather I usually go out and check for eggs every 2 hours from 9 in the morning until 5 in the evening. I am retired so I'm home most of the time in the winter.

 

[cluckey]

I have a question. How do you tell if an eggs is frozen if the shell is not cracked. I have 15 Buff Orphingtons and 10 New Hampshire Reds they just started laying this week and our temperatures have been -25 with the wind chill. The coop is pretty solid not much wind can get in.I am getting 7 to 10 eggs a day now. In cold weather I usually go out and check for eggs every 2 hours from 9 in the morning until 5 in the evening. I am retired so I'm home most of the time in the winter.

if it's that cold out which it is where I live right now I don't think it takes very long for them to freeze. I have a hen that likes to lay her egg by 6:30 am and today I collected it before 9am and cooked it and it had started to freeze already. I don't think you can tell without cracking them open. The whites get kind of frothy looking. With these temps I put them in the refrigerator if they aren't cracked and cook them as needed. If they are cracked I scramble them up and feed them back to the girls.

 

[blucoondawg]

It also will depend on how long they are sat on by the hens most our eggs are laid in 2 or 3 places so there are a lot of hens sitting on the eggs as they're laid which keeps them warm. When I pick one up and it is extremely cold to the touch I assume it's froze or close to it you could get a infra red thermometer cheap from harbor freight but that only gets you the outside temp

 

[RonP]

Put a flashlight to the egg, candle it. With practice you'll l see differences .

You'll see cracks if the shell was breached.

If not, the egg is still safe to eat. If cracked, I cook and feed back to the flock.

Quote:
US FDA says:
"Shell eggs should not be frozen. If an egg accidentally freezes and the shell cracked during freezing, discard the egg. Keep any uncracked eggs frozen until needed; then thaw in the refrigerator. These can be hard cooked successfully but other uses may be limited. That's because freezing causes the yolk to become thick and syrupy so it will not flow like an unfrozen yolk or blend very well with the egg white or other ingredients."

 

[aart]

Put a flashlight to the egg, candle it. With practice you'll l see differences .

I'll have to try this....because the spinning thing never worked for me.

 

[RonP]

I'll have to try this....because the spinning thing never worked for me.

I was always looking for a fresh egg to compare the questionable one.

It is a lot quicker with the flashlight.

 

[CreekWindFarm]

We have 7 Orpingtons that started laying the week of Christmas. They were 27 weeks old. At first it was 1 egg every day to every other day. Now they are 30 weeks old and we are getting 4-5 eggs a day. We've had temps below 10 degrees F and they still laid, however some froze, though they were still fine. And one egg ended up smack dab in the center of the coop and was frozen & cracked. We gave that to the barn cats. Otherwise, we are checking at least 2-3 times per day. Almost always one egg early in the morning, then a few more after mid-day. Sometimes one more when we shut the coop door at night. We don't have electricity in the barn, so no extra light or heat.

 

[aart]

We have 7 Orpingtons that started laying the week of Christmas. They were 27 weeks old. At first it was 1 egg every day to every other day. Now they are 30 weeks old and we are getting 4-5 eggs a day. We've had temps below 10 degrees F and they still laid, however some froze, though they were still fine. And one egg ended up smack dab in the center of the coop and was frozen & cracked. We gave that to the barn cats. Otherwise, we are checking at least 2-3 times per day. Almost always one egg early in the morning, then a few more after mid-day. Sometimes one more when we shut the coop door at night. We don't have electricity in the barn, so no extra light or heat.

First year pullets can lay all winter without extra light.
Gathering eggs multiple times a day is great for those who don't have to leave home to work all day.