Mysteriously cracked eggs...

[Ruth Ann]

I recall someone saying if they are digging a hole in the nesting material...to cut a piece corigated cardboard to fit in the bottom.
It will cushion the blow for the egg.

 

[Judy]

Quote:
The cure for this is a couple layers of that rubbery shelf liner under the hay, or carpet scraps.

 

[WoodlandWoman]

Water expands when it freezes. The contents of an egg contain a lot of water, so when it freezes, it expands. The shell doesn't expand, so it cracks open. Collect your eggs more often and don't leave any in the coop overnight, to avoid frozen eggs.

 

[Q9]

Quote:
Thanks; we grabbed the eggs before dark, and the ones in there this morning weren't cracked. It must be the freezing.

The weird part is, just a few weeks after doing an experiment involving the water content of eggs, I had totally forgotten about the high concentration of water.

Oh, well. Live and learn - or ask BYCers.

 

[WoodlandWoman]

Well, there's always a lot going on and every new season that you first have chickens brings a lot of new things to deal with. I forget a lot of things, too.

 

[abhaya]

It probably froze I have them do that now and then.