insulating next boxes?

[drmchang]

So we are new to chicken keeping, have 11 mixed layers who will be laying any minute now, and we have nest boxes that are suspended outside the coop itself, with a lidded top for easier egg collecting. It gets cold here in MA, so I was wondering, should we insulate this box to keep any eggs left in that box from freezing? Or will the hay keep them warm enough to prevent that until they are collected?

 

[Fred's Hens]

Insulating likely won't help much. The hens love the cold weather here and we don't insulate anything, nor provide any additional heat.

However, collecting the eggs is a necessity. Not so much in typical 20F days. They don't freeze quickly at all. But when zero weather kicks in, you'll want to collect with regularity. You can always go ahead and thaw, scramble and feed back the ones you do find.

 

[JodyJo]

I live in Colorado, no added heat, but yes the eggs will freeze, so get them as soon as they lay...or as you can obviously.

 

[donrae]

And if you miss an egg and it freezes, you can always toss it to your dog. Mine never quite know what to do with an eggscicle, it's fun to watch them try to figure out how to eat it.

 

[dainerra]

Quote:
This was going to be my suggestion as well! You can also eat them once they thaw out, though I tend to sit them aside so I don't use them for baking or anything. No different than if your fridge decides to freeze your milk one day!

 

[MissJenny]

My egg box was insulated when we built the coop, including the lid. There's no reason you can't retro-insulate. We used foam sandwiched between plywood. I think it's worth doing, not only for the eggs, but the egg box doubles as a brooder for Mama's and new babies in the summer. Insulation keeps the egg box from being unbearably hot.

Jenny

 

[moetrout]

The only insulation my nest box has is the pine shavings they lay in. I do put an extra thick layer in there for winter and then make sure I maintain it through out the cold. Also we tend to collect eggs more often in the winter to avoid freezing. I had not had any problems or bad eggs or even frozen eggs that i can remember. chickens are simple, don't over think these things. Keep it simple.

 

[drmchang]

Thanks for all the thoughts. We are up and out pretty early in the morning, kids on bus by 6:45 and we're usually right behind them, so I'm thinking the girls probably won't have laid by that time. Hopefully, though, we won't have too many frozen eggs by the time kids get home from school, around 2:30. Our dogs are already spoiled enough! This chicken thing has been so simple and so much easier than I thought it would be, now just waiting for the bubble to pop.

 

[hispoptart]

Quote:
I'm worried about my eggs freezing also. It can get -20 here for weeks at a time. I leave for work before all the eggs have been layed. So we are going to put some insulation around our nesting boxes to see if that will help.

 

[moetrout]

I would have to say most of our eggs get collected after schoold during the week. Much like everyone else we just aren't there to do it. Again, I never had any frozen eggs. I would not worry about it too much. Just collect them as soon as you can during the winter. I am in Michigan and we do get some cold weather here!