What can I do..?

[blckbrnfamly]

All but one of my chickens totally empties the nest box before they lay, I've watched each chicken walk into the nest box area and you can hear the scratch scratch of their nails on the floor of the boxes, I've added copious amounts of extra bedding, but they still do it.... I have found cracked egg after cracked egg. Is there something I can place on the bottom of the nest boxes that is soft enough to keep them from cracking?

 

[Mahonri]

spongy shelf liner? Glue down felt?

 

[Intheswamp]

Try a piece of scrap carpet.

Ed

ETA: ...with padding underneath if you think you need it.

 

[Bear Foot Farm]

Use "indoor/outdoor" carpet or "marine" carpet, and you can wash it off with a hose when it gets soiled

 

[chookchick]

LIttle Buggers! Can you raise the front of the nestbox so it is harder to push the bedding out? (I had this same problem). Anything to save those beautiful eggs!

 

[Bleenie]

you could try gluing some soft moss down to the bottom of the box. (they sell it at the craft store)

 

[patandchickens]

Commercial nestbox liners would be something like coir matting (expensive, needs periodic replacement) or squares of the stuff that some doormats are made of (with 3/4" long flexible spikes kind of like very sparse coarse fake grass, you know what i mean?, usually they are green or black?).

However I am with chookchick in suspecting the problem could probably be solved by a higher lip on the front of the nestboxes. Mine are mostly about 4" high lip and some bedding still gets kicked out; 6-8" or even higher would not be excessive, as long as there is still room for the chicken to get into the nestbox (depends how tall your box is and what the top/front are shaped like)

Good luck, have fun,

Pat

 

[KatyTheChickenLady]

check out the nest liner he has in this thread:

https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=287684

 

[blckbrnfamly]

Thanks everyone for the replies, our boxes have a 4" lip on them, maybe I'll have DH raise it a couple of inches. But I think just incase I'm going to put something under the bedding.
Katy- Thanks for the link!!