- Jan 25, 2008
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Well, one egg is a start. Better than none, pretty good first day trying to break the habit I think.
If there are "deposits" in the nest box, then you can be pretty sure someone is sleeping in it. Do you have roosts in the coop?
What are the demensions the dementions of the nest box? Also the measurements of the "doorway" to the nest box from the inside of the coop. They don't have to be precise measurements, just a close figure. If the entrance to the nest box is just a large hole in the wall, then the hens can see the eggs all the time. If it's just a large hole in the wall, we need to try and figure out a way to make a smaller "door," just large enough for the hens to get in and out. By doing this, we darken the nest box and in a way "hide" the eggs.
If darkening the nest box doesn't work, there is an even easier fix to the problem. Because your nest box is just a built-on room, there may be a way to cut a hole out in the back of the nest and slant the nest box floor slightly. That way once they lay an egg it simply rolls out of the nest box. It's hard to explain through text. You would make the collecting tray for the eggs(the external extension of the nest box floor) long enough that the hens can't get at the eggs from the inside of the box. I'm thinking the hole in the back of the nest box would need to be about 4 inches high and the entire length of the back of the nest box, thay way the eggs can roll freely(if your eggs are smaller than this make it smaller) into the holding/collecting tray. Then just put a hinged door onto the collecting tray, you just lift the lid to the collecting tray and the eggs are waiting for you. Of course this isn't breaking the problem, but finding a way around it.
Glad you got an egg today!
-Kim
If there are "deposits" in the nest box, then you can be pretty sure someone is sleeping in it. Do you have roosts in the coop?
What are the demensions the dementions of the nest box? Also the measurements of the "doorway" to the nest box from the inside of the coop. They don't have to be precise measurements, just a close figure. If the entrance to the nest box is just a large hole in the wall, then the hens can see the eggs all the time. If it's just a large hole in the wall, we need to try and figure out a way to make a smaller "door," just large enough for the hens to get in and out. By doing this, we darken the nest box and in a way "hide" the eggs.
If darkening the nest box doesn't work, there is an even easier fix to the problem. Because your nest box is just a built-on room, there may be a way to cut a hole out in the back of the nest and slant the nest box floor slightly. That way once they lay an egg it simply rolls out of the nest box. It's hard to explain through text. You would make the collecting tray for the eggs(the external extension of the nest box floor) long enough that the hens can't get at the eggs from the inside of the box. I'm thinking the hole in the back of the nest box would need to be about 4 inches high and the entire length of the back of the nest box, thay way the eggs can roll freely(if your eggs are smaller than this make it smaller) into the holding/collecting tray. Then just put a hinged door onto the collecting tray, you just lift the lid to the collecting tray and the eggs are waiting for you. Of course this isn't breaking the problem, but finding a way around it.
Glad you got an egg today!
-Kim
I don't know how they are pulling that off. The box is 24"l x 12"w x 12"h with a divider in the middle. It's at floor level with a small lip to get in and the entrance is 24"x12". I've since realized that maybe the nests shouldn't have been right at floor level. In as much research as I did before designing the coop I never read that until I've been researching the problem of egg-eating. We put it low to make sure it was lower than the roosts and also so that the kids could reach to open it up and look for eggs. 
