How to keep eggs from freezing with out incubating them?

[kryptoniteqhs]

Any ideas? Obviously I cannot stand outside 24/7 with my hands under my chickens waiting for the egg. I have orders going out & I am worried about my eggs freezing before I can get to them. I know eggs can be hatched after they are refrigerated (no, i do not do that), but they surely cant be any good after they have frozen? I want to put a heat lamp or something outside of my nesting boxes, but I dont want to incubate the eggs. Any suggestions?

 

[onthespot]

how about a heating pad under the nest box set to Low... maybe just enough to keep them from freezing. I would be afraid the hens might like the warmth though and stay in there to stay warm and poop all over the eggs.

 

[Akane]

If it's cold enough to freeze your eggs a heat lamp is not going to cook them. Just place a thermometer in the nest box and adjust the distance of the lamp so it at least keeps them above freezing and up to 50-60F. If it's cold enough to freeze eggs though you aren't likely to get them 50F much less the 90+ needed to do anything to them. I pointed a heat lamp at their favorite laying spot every year to get some unfrozen eggs.

 

[gsim]

Between my wife and I , we go out to the coop a total of around 6 times daily, including opening and lockdown. Have not yet had any frozen ones.

 

[Katy]

I go out several times a day to collect them. This is one of the reasons I don't sell hatching eggs this time of year. I don't feel good about sending out eggs that may have gotten too cold.....not to mention setting in the mail trucks out in the cold.

 

[mstricer]

I collect twice a day. I had eggs in my car for 8 + hours at work for a co-worker and they were not frozen he said. I really dont think they go bad if they freeze they just dont stand up as well. My coop stays at about 35 degrees with everyone in there, my boxes are on the inside.

 

[Uzuri]

How cold is it where you are? We maxed out at 13 on Saturday and I went out every... 3 hours, I think. No frozen eggs except the one that was laid Friday night after I'd been out for the last time (and it went down to 0 that night )

Today I can only collect at 5:00, so we'll see what happens. They are all locked in the coop, though, so it'll be warmer in there, maybe warm enough not to freeze them.

 

[mstricer]

I'm in Ohio, Yesterday high of 13 wind chill -6. I have a 125 bulb that comes on twice a day, once in the morning for 2 hrs to heat up and once in the evening for about 3 hours to warm up. Coop is completely insulated and I have bales of straw all around it. I've keep them locked up for the past 3 days they are not happy. So today I left their pop door open and lamp on. I'm off work today so I will be able to check on them.

 

[bufforp89]

I have 14 hens that are laying right now and I am only able to check the nest boxes 2-3 times a day. I was worried about frozen eggs so I took away 2 of my 4 nest boxes. Now I never have frozen eggs because someone is almost always on the nest. I was worried that they would start laying elsewhere in the coop but the only places I have found eggs is in the boxes so its working so far.

 

[Uzuri]

Quote:
Ohio here, too, and your numbers look similar enough that I bet we're close to the same latitude. Your coop sounds MUCH warmer than mine (uninsulated, no light), so I'm betting you'll have no trouble

If you're going to be gone all day and want to save yourself some worry, though, go ahead and have that light come on more. Maybe get one of those in-line thermostats for it and keep the coop at above 28 (freezing temp for an egg).