What the heck is this?

[WindingRoad]

We do oyster shell. I dont like giving them their own shells because i worry they will start eating their own eggs. Probably unfounded but id rather not risk it.

I had not had a problem with egg eating. Free source of Ca++. I also have a pile of oysters shells beside my house. The guy I bought it from was a clam digger. Oysters probably for his own consumption. LOL. Gotta get the sledge hammer this spring. I've even got a small concrete slab there.

 

[Ninjasquirrel]

Yeah those poor egg machines have it rough! I have had reproductive problems with my GC since she started laying. She's going on 3 years old now and still has random problems here and there.

Theyve been very good for us. I probably would get this same breed again. But then again its only been a year. I had originally planned on barred rocks but TSC didnt have any and i had my heart set on leaving with a box of cute little peeps

 

[Ninjasquirrel]

I had not had a problem with egg eating. Free source of Ca++. I also have a pile of oysters shells beside my house. The guy I bought it from was a clam digger. Oysters probably for his own consumption. LOL. Gotta get the sledge hammer this spring. I've even got a small concrete slab there.

Neat! We bought our oyster shell in a big precrumbled sack from a local farm supply store. I dont see us running out anytime soon. I had a frozen egg break in the coop this morning and it was like i rang the dinner bell. They destroyed it...and it was FROZEN.

 

[530729]

I randomly get odd shaped eggs as well. I have thousand of chickens for commercial use, so it’s not alarming when I find them.

 

[WindingRoad]

Neat! We bought our oyster shell in a big precrumbled sack from a local farm supply store. I dont see us running out anytime soon. I had a frozen egg break in the coop this morning and it was like i rang the dinner bell. They destroyed it...and it was FROZEN.

Some here rigged up some warming pads for his nests. Because I am retired I am out there often. My birds sleep in the nest boxes day and night. LOL. So they tend to keep the eggs warm. I went out one day to change water and I heard a plop. My BO had just laid an egg. I didn't know they stand up to actually lay the egg. And it was still wet ( bloom) and VERY warm. So I think that helps them from not freezing too quickly.

 

[Ninjasquirrel]

Some here rigged up some warming pads for his nests. Because I am retired I am out there often. My birds sleep in the nest boxes day and night. LOL. So they tend to keep the eggs warm. I went out one day to change water and I heard a plop. My BO had just laid an egg. I didn't know they stand up to actually lay the egg. And it was still wet ( bloom) and VERY warm. So I think that helps them from not freezing too quickly.

Mine dont always lay in the boxes. About half of them prefer the corner while the others all share the same box. I thought about doing a heating pad but it seems more trouble than its worth. I already have more eggs than i know what to do with

 

[WindingRoad]

Mine dont always lay in the boxes. About half of them prefer the corner while the others all share the same box. I thought about doing a heating pad but it seems more trouble than its worth. I already have more eggs than i know what to do with

I found 3 eggs in one box the other morning. Sometimes I find an egg in each of the 3 boxes. Just never know.

 

[cmom]

I randomly get odd shaped eggs as well. I have thousand of chickens for commercial use, so it’s not alarming when I find them.

Mine dont always lay in the boxes. About half of them prefer the corner while the others all share the same box. I thought about doing a heating pad but it seems more trouble than its worth. I already have more eggs than i know what to do with

Have you tried putting either a fake egg or golf ball in the nest box.

 

[Ninjasquirrel]

Have you tried putting either a fake egg or golf ball in the nest box.
View attachment 1654833 View attachment 1654841

There is a golf ball in each nesting box. They just like that corner for some reason

 

[cmom]

I have had that in the past so I made the area mine wanted to lay in not suitable to lay in and then they started to lay in the nest boxes. I have some pullets that recently started laying and they were laying them luckily everywhere in the coop. I put some side by side nest boxes in and they wouldn't really lay in them, next I took them out and put in some cut out totes that I have used in the past. In both cases they did eventually start laying either on the floor or the left nest box. Now I have taken them out and put a 2 tier tower next box. Now they're laying all of the eggs in those 2 nest boxes. Once in awhile I might find an egg on the floor. This is a grow-out coop which normally doesn't have nest boxes. I have a lot of roost space but not much space for nest boxes. The nest boxes need to have tops to keep the poop out. They have a large pen attached.