lost and found a large nest of eggs!

[Jessica Conley]

Hello, I would first say I love my girls! (and my rooster) Over the past two weeks our daily egg total has dropped which was not unexpected. It is winter after all. I do have 6 sex links that I expected to lay fairly regularly. Our egg count continued to decline and I could not figure out why. Everyone looked healthy and acted normally. Yesterday something next to our shed caught my eye. When I looked under it there were 31 eggs! I have no idea why they started laying eggs there or even when. The eggs are mostly all from our 6 Leghorns with a few brown eggs from the others. Are these eggs ok? My husband is worried because they likely froze and thawed a few times. The temps haven't gotten above 40 degrees. We collected them and have them in the fridge but wanted another opinion. Now about my girls laying under the shed.....since I removed all the eggs, they are back to laying in their nesting boxes. I am guessing that one or two of them laid under the shed and that started a whole new routine for them until I removed the eggs. Should I be concerned about them laying outside of their nesting boxes?

 

[DobieLover]

Hello, I would first say I love my girls! (and my rooster) Over the past two weeks our daily egg total has dropped which was not unexpected. It is winter after all. I do have 6 sex links that I expected to lay fairly regularly. Our egg count continued to decline and I could not figure out why. Everyone looked healthy and acted normally. Yesterday something next to our shed caught my eye. When I looked under it there were 31 eggs! I have no idea why they started laying eggs there or even when. The eggs are mostly all from our 6 Leghorns with a few brown eggs from the others. Are these eggs ok? My husband is worried because they likely froze and thawed a few times. The temps haven't gotten above 40 degrees. We collected them and have them in the fridge but wanted another opinion. Now about my girls laying under the shed.....since I removed all the eggs, they are back to laying in their nesting boxes. I am guessing that one or two of them laid under the shed and that started a whole new routine for them until I removed the eggs. Should I be concerned about them laying outside of their nesting boxes?

Can you block their access to them getting under the shed? What do your nest boxes look like (pictures would help)?
I would toss the eggs. Going through several freeze/thaw cycles has undoubtedly allowed bacteria to breech the shell and likely the membrane. That's a major bummer, I know. Winter eggs are like gold around here.

 

[cmom]

They may have some other places. Usually when one lays in a certain spot the others want to lay their eggs there too. Maybe put a golf ball or similar in their nest box.

 

[Cheyenne97]

I wouldn’t eat them because honestly who knows how long some have been under your shed. It should fix the routine. Maybe try throwing some fake eggs in your nesting boxes to stimulate them laying there.

 

[cmom]

I would say the eggs are probably ok, but if you do use them, break them open in a dish first to check them. I have eaten older eggs and they were fine and I am fine, no ill effects.

 

[cmom]

If the eggs did freeze they would crack. Most likely since they were under your shed they might not have frozen.

 

[Jessica Conley]

Can you block their access to them getting under the shed? What do your nest boxes look like (pictures would help)?
I would toss the eggs. Going through several freeze/thaw cycles has undoubtedly allowed bacteria to breech the shell and likely the membrane. That's a major bummer, I know. Winter eggs are like gold around here.

Thanks for the advice. I will see what I can do to block them from the shed. I don't have a picture with me of the nesting boxes, but they are milk crates with the fronts cut out. They have been using them all year with no problems. So I am unsure why the change.

 

[cmom]

I have a friend who lives in Alaska. Especially during the winter months when she gets home from work and collects the eggs they are frozen because she does not heat her coop but her coop is insulated, she put the eggs in her freezer. I have done it too and the eggs are fine and don't take long to thaw out.

 

[cmom]

I have a friend who lives in Alaska. Especially during the winter months when she gets home from work and collects the eggs they are frozen because she does not heat her coop but her coop is insulated, she put the eggs in her freezer. I have done it too and the eggs are fine and don't take long to thaw out.

The frozen eggs are very easy to peal.

 

[DobieLover]

Thanks for the advice. I will see what I can do to block them from the shed. I don't have a picture with me of the nesting boxes, but they are milk crates with the fronts cut out. They have been using them all year with no problems. So I am unsure why the change.

Chickens love secluded locations to lay. Under the shed sounds much more secluded than an open milk crate.
You might improve their preference for your nest boxes by adding some other sort of cover to the boxes to make them feel more secluded and private. There are many ways to accomplish that. I find curtains to be an easy solution for privacy for the way my coop is constructed.