Laying egg early from roost

[3KillerBs]

It’s winter. I live in northern nevada so it’s cold and about to be snow weather. We have already had intermittent snow. But it’s only her and it in the early morning hours so she either can’t see to get there in time or she’s being lazy. She lays the best eggs, double yolkers here and there. So I’m hating they are breaking. Especially bc I only have her and one other laying

OK, so not a snake in the box. But it wouldn't hurt to take up the nest material and look for any signs of vermin, bugs, etc.

 

[Nomadicus]

Oh I was only keeping the light on before bed . I don’t have one I could leave on all night. Any other ideas?

I have the same problem and am going tomorrow for timer that will turn on lights by 4 a.m. I am going to hang brooder type light fixtures with 25-40 watt light output from LED bulbs. I thought all this time that it was just my crazy hens. I'm tired of making dog food out of nearly a dozen large eggs a day.

 

[Wmaddox]

I have the same problem and am going tomorrow for timer that will turn on lights by 4 a.m. I am going to hang brooder type light fixtures with 25-40 watt light output from LED bulbs. I thought all this time that it was just my crazy hens. I'm tired of making dog food out of nearly a dozen large eggs a day.

Let me know if you have luck with that. I e been moving her to the nesting box every night so she won’t drop her egg from roost. It’s getting pretty old this routine.

 

[Nomadicus]

Let me know if you have luck with that. I e been moving her to the nesting box every night so she won’t drop her egg from roost. It’s getting pretty old this routine.

I now have half the eggs dropped from the roost. 4-5 of the hens seem to be just plain stubborn. I need to build a time out small coop with no roosting bars but access to a nest box..... I can can match wits with the best of them.

 

[Wmaddox]

I now have half the eggs dropped from the roost. 4-5 of the hens seem to be just plain stubborn. I need to build a time out small coop with no roosting bars but access to a nest box..... I can can match wits with the best of them.

It so frustrating to see broken shells under roost especially with these egg prices. Hoping the more days pass with more light each day she’ll eventually get back to her routine of laying later in the morning so she can see to get to her egg box.

 

[BigBlueHen53]

I don't believe animals are stubborn. Stubborn means they know what you want them to do and yet refuse to do it. Why, just to make you mad? Do they understand what emotions are? Do they know you have emotions? No. If they did, what would be their motive for wanting to trigger your anger? They have no such motive. They're just not smart enough to do that kind of abstract thinking.

So look for another motive, one that makes sense to the chicken. Bullying? Is a dominant hen keeping this hen off the nest? If so, lock up the bully in a crate for a few days.

Another poster suggested the nest might have mites. Clean out the nests and treat them with permethrin powder or spray, then add fresh bedding. See if that helps.

Can you build poop trays under the roosts? That way if she lays her egg at night on the roost, the egg won't have far to fall, and won't break. Good luck!

 

[Callender Girl]

I have recently seen signs that one of my Buckeyes is ready to resume laying. I go out several times a day when it's particularly frigid to rescue eggs before they freeze. Beatrix has been spending a LOT of time in one of the nest boxes.

Yesterday, the same scenario and again, no eggs in the nest box.

Later, I discovered where those eggs have been going. Under the roosts in my avatar coop I have hung a tarp as an easily-removable poop shelf. Yep, Beatrix wiggles her butt in the nest box for a while, then drops her eggs into the poop catcher. I found two frozen-solid eggs, covered in, well, frozen solid droppings. Good news, neither of them was broken!

I empty the tarp about every other day. Guess I better step up my process.

 

[Nomadicus]

I don't believe animals are stubborn. Stubborn means they know what you want them to do and yet refuse to do it. Why, just to make you mad? Do they understand what emotions are? Do they know you have emotions? No. If they did, what would be their motive for wanting to trigger your anger? They have no such motive. They're just not smart enough to do that kind of abstract thinking.

So look for another motive, one that makes sense to the chicken. Bullying? Is a dominant hen keeping this hen off the nest? If so, lock up the bully in a crate for a few days.

Another poster suggested the nest might have mites. Clean out the nests and treat them with permethrin powder or spray, then add fresh bedding. See if that helps.

Can you build poop trays under the roosts? That way if she lays her egg at night on the roost, the egg won't have far to fall, and won't break. Good luck!

I've thought about making a tray of 2" opening chicken wire that is at a slight angle to allow them to roll down to where I can reach them. With all the other must do's that is own the back burner. As for a bully hen I know they exist but how to I find on in the middle of the night when they are laying off the roost in a flock of 40+ hens? When the flocks co-mingle during free ranging it's the Rhode Island Reds picking on the Delawares. The number of dropped eggs is still decreasing. I think it will stop if I light up the whole house instead of just the area around the nest box. At least most of the hens took right to their roll out nest box that keeps their eggs incubator clean. The dropped eggs get cleaned an donated for puppy scrambled eggs.. I do have one hen that refuses to lay anywhere but in one corner of the hen house. I finally gave up and put a feed sack down in the corner to keep her egg clean.

 

[BigBlueHen53]

I've thought about making a tray of 2" opening chicken wire that is at a slight angle to allow them to roll down to where I can reach them. With all the other must do's that is own the back burner. As for a bully hen I know they exist but how to I find on in the middle of the night when they are laying off the roost in a flock of 40+ hens? When the flocks co-mingle during free ranging it's the Rhode Island Reds picking on the Delawares. The number of dropped eggs is still decreasing. I think it will stop if I light up the whole house instead of just the area around the nest box. At least most of the hens took right to their roll out nest box that keeps their eggs incubator clean. The dropped eggs get cleaned an donated for puppy scrambled eggs.. I do have one hen that refuses to lay anywhere but in one corner of the hen house. I finally gave up and put a feed sack down in the corner to keep her egg clean.

I think the chicken wire idea is a good one, like a safety net for the eggs. Just one thought, though, could an egg pass through that 2" chicken wire? I wonder if 1" chicken wire might be a safer safety net?

 

[Nomadicus]

I think the chicken wire idea is a good one, like a safety net for the eggs. Just one thought, though, could an egg pass through that 2" chicken wire? I wonder if 1" chicken wire might be a safer safety net?

I can test it with current eggs that are dropping. Some are Jumbo and I hate losing them. Most are at least large now. I have both 1" and 2" wire on hand. Before I do this I'm going to try and turn on the lights 24x7 for a week and see if that helps. I have LED lighting so no extra heat or a lot of extra expense will be incurred.