trying out the fake egg routine...

[Chickaroos]

my sllly chick has been laying in the worm/compost bucket I have recently put in their run area. I had the lid off to dry out some of the extra moisture that got in from the rain and the day I took the lid off, we found an egg! She really likes it in there..lol
Today my daughter and I painted some plastic easter eggs white and put them in the area I specially made for them to lay in...crossing fingers and hoping they will get the hint! Just FYI, i'll reply if I have success..lol

 

[Mickiesmadhouse]

What a fantastic idea to use plastic Easter eggs!
I've been using golf balls but I feel like my girls are rolling their eyes @ me saying, "really?", you think we're that easy? lol. The girls are just 22 weeks and I'm patiently waiting for that golden yolk payoff. I'm afraid the heat here is a factor. 103 today and it's only June!

 

[Chickaroos]

I was wondering if it was really worth it to drive to the store to find wooden eggs...lol. I believe it was around 4am when my brain wouldent shut off, and I remembered the plastic easter eggs I just found while cleaning the basement..lol

 

[CarolJ]

Fake eggs are great! They have worked for me several different ways. The fake ceramic ones I bought look so real, I finally had to write "FAKE" with a Sharpie on them so I wouldn't have to keep trying to figure out which eggs were real and which ones were the fake ones. The chickens can't read, though - so having "FAKE" written on the eggs don't bother them.

Anyway - the fake eggs do a great job of getting the hens to lay where you want them to lay. I've also put them under a broody hen a couple of times to keep her sitting until I could get the real eggs I wanted to put under her. I've also used them to stop an egg-eater. When they peck that hard ceramic egg a few times, they lose the desire to eat an egg.

A plastic Easter egg should work the same way. I'd probably put something heavy (sand maybe?) in it and glue it shut so it would be heavier (more realistic) and so they couldn't peck it open.

Good luck!

 

[pretend farmer]

I used golf balls on my hens. I got them at POL and they layed within a week

 

[heybarb]

I put golf balls in my nesting boxes yesterday. No eggs yet, but I am optimistic!

 

[3 NH reds]

I used fake eggs on my broody. I work in plastics so I took some hot molten waste plastic and with some gloves I rolled it into egg shapes. They look rough to say the least but they worked, I was able to remove the real eggs everyday and leave her the plastic. I got a second bird on her eggs now as I wait on some eggs I bought and yes she uses them and will pull them back under her and hiss at me.