This is sort of an update to an earlier post of mine about 5 of 6 Golden Comet hens laying. Well, I discovered 1) that apparently all 6 are laying and 2) at least one of them had a secret laying spot and there in lies my problem.
These hens are 22 weeks old and it seems that 4-5 of the hens are all laying in the same nest, not unusual as I have come to learn. One day last week I found one egg somewhat in the middle of the coop floor, one of those soft-not-fully-developed-shell eggs. I first thought that maybe this particular hen was on the floor and thought it was pooping and out pops this egg. Did not think too much about it at the time.
Let me stop and explain some of the details of the coop. I have 3 nest boxes, that are on a "table" (for the lack of a better term) that are about 2 feet off the floor. These nests have a roof over them and I sit my feed buckets and other things on this roof. There is a roost (a 2x4 turned on edge so the 1 3/4" width is what they roost on) above the nest boxes, about 6 feet in the air. These hens took to the roost not many days after they arrived in their new home. Well since they do roost and POOP a ton up there, I decided to cover my buckets and others supplies with a piece of black plastic, just to keep the buckets a bit cleaner. I can sort of sweep the plastic off the get the poop off and move along.
So yesterday evening, I decide I will clean the plastic off. I pop my hand under the plastic and push it up and I hear several things hitting the floor that to me was more than poop. Sure enough there were 5-6 eggs and they were all cracked from the fall. It seems that at least one of the hens is layer her eggs while on the roost and they had been collecting there on the plastic. The distance from the roost to the plastic might be 5-6 inches.
I am at first relieved that it seems that all of the hens are laying. Now what do I do?? Well I clean up the cracked eggs, I clean up the poop and recover my buckets with the plastic. I am thinking if she is laying there, I at least want to catch the egg and not let them all fall the 12+ inches to the top of the nest boxes.
This morning, doing my usual rounds of feeding the dog and checking on the hens, I see an egg in the middle of the floor of the coop, cracked open. It seems that the guilty party must have laid and egg between 7:30 last night and 6 this morning. And apparently it rolled off the plastic to its demise on the floor.
So, now what do I do?? It seems that at least one is laying eggs, 6 feet in the air, from the roost. I have no way of know which one or when this is happening. My wife suggested making something the catch the egg (my mind immediately went to the old Little Rascals episodes where they concocted all of those contraptions to do things), and I guess I could do that, but I would rather not have any of them laying and pooping in the same area, if you know what I mean.
Suggestions, ideas? I was close to tears this morning when I saw the cracked egg this morning. It has been a trying 2 weeks and this is not helping me any!
I apologize for the length of the post but I thought it necessary to explain.
Thanks.
These hens are 22 weeks old and it seems that 4-5 of the hens are all laying in the same nest, not unusual as I have come to learn. One day last week I found one egg somewhat in the middle of the coop floor, one of those soft-not-fully-developed-shell eggs. I first thought that maybe this particular hen was on the floor and thought it was pooping and out pops this egg. Did not think too much about it at the time.
Let me stop and explain some of the details of the coop. I have 3 nest boxes, that are on a "table" (for the lack of a better term) that are about 2 feet off the floor. These nests have a roof over them and I sit my feed buckets and other things on this roof. There is a roost (a 2x4 turned on edge so the 1 3/4" width is what they roost on) above the nest boxes, about 6 feet in the air. These hens took to the roost not many days after they arrived in their new home. Well since they do roost and POOP a ton up there, I decided to cover my buckets and others supplies with a piece of black plastic, just to keep the buckets a bit cleaner. I can sort of sweep the plastic off the get the poop off and move along.
So yesterday evening, I decide I will clean the plastic off. I pop my hand under the plastic and push it up and I hear several things hitting the floor that to me was more than poop. Sure enough there were 5-6 eggs and they were all cracked from the fall. It seems that at least one of the hens is layer her eggs while on the roost and they had been collecting there on the plastic. The distance from the roost to the plastic might be 5-6 inches.
I am at first relieved that it seems that all of the hens are laying. Now what do I do?? Well I clean up the cracked eggs, I clean up the poop and recover my buckets with the plastic. I am thinking if she is laying there, I at least want to catch the egg and not let them all fall the 12+ inches to the top of the nest boxes.
This morning, doing my usual rounds of feeding the dog and checking on the hens, I see an egg in the middle of the floor of the coop, cracked open. It seems that the guilty party must have laid and egg between 7:30 last night and 6 this morning. And apparently it rolled off the plastic to its demise on the floor.
So, now what do I do?? It seems that at least one is laying eggs, 6 feet in the air, from the roost. I have no way of know which one or when this is happening. My wife suggested making something the catch the egg (my mind immediately went to the old Little Rascals episodes where they concocted all of those contraptions to do things), and I guess I could do that, but I would rather not have any of them laying and pooping in the same area, if you know what I mean.
Suggestions, ideas? I was close to tears this morning when I saw the cracked egg this morning. It has been a trying 2 weeks and this is not helping me any!
I apologize for the length of the post but I thought it necessary to explain.
Thanks.
