Why do hens push eggs out of nests?

[WesleyBeal]

The last two days I have found an egg pushed out of the nest.

Searching the forum, I see references to this with broody hens, but none of my hens are sleeping in their nest boxes - I've been on the lookout for a broody, but no luck so far.

Each nest has a fake-egg in it. The fake eggs haven't been pushed out yet - just the good ones. So far, none have broke.

I did find an egg yesterday all the way out in their run. I assume it was laid out there.

Since this has been happening during the day, and I work at home, I think I would of heard a lot of protests had there been some critter moving the eggs, but let me know if that's a possibility.

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

Some hens get vigorous in their nest arranging and they end up kicking out eggs. I see it more in younger hens during the first season. Mine will kick out both fake and real eggs. It can help to have a deep lip on the boxes, but even then it occasionally happens.

 

[WesleyBeal]

Some hens get vigorous in their nest arranging and they end up kicking out eggs. I see it more in younger hens during the first season. Mine will kick out both fake and real eggs. It can help to have a deep lip on the boxes, but even then it occasionally happens.

Good to know! Haven't seen it happen before now (they started laying back in November), but behaviors evolve. I've got a 3 1/2 to 4 inch lip on the nests now. Oh well.

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

They should calm down as the season progresses. This time of year hormones are at their highest level so chickens are a bit more vigorous in everything they do. The heat of summer will slow everyone down.

 

[Ridgerunner]

How old are they? This sounds like pullets just starting to lay. Sometimes when pullets first start to lay, they seem to have no control over the process. They just drop an egg wherever they happen to be. Once they gain control of the process they pick a place to lay and that becomes their nest. If the eggs are scattered randomly this is a strong possibility. Many pullets have control over the laying process to start with but a reasonable number don’t. It’s really common.

If your fake eggs and the bedding were being scratched out, I’d say you need to raise the lip on the nest, but it doesn’t sound like that is what is happening.

 

[WesleyBeal]

How old are they? This sounds like pullets just starting to lay. Sometimes when pullets first start to lay, they seem to have no control over the process. They just drop an egg wherever they happen to be. Once they gain control of the process they pick a place to lay and that becomes their nest. If the eggs are scattered randomly this is a strong possibility. Many pullets have control over the laying process to start with but a reasonable number don’t. It’s really common.

If your fake eggs and the bedding were being scratched out, I’d say you need to raise the lip on the nest, but it doesn’t sound like that is what is happening.

They're 42 weeks. Been laying since late November.

They have been laying only in their nests for quite a while - just found that one egg out in the run, which was a surprise. Last time they laid an egg out of the nest was February 2nd, and before that was December 31st (it was an issue until the end of December, at which point they seem to have "got it.")

The lip is about 4 inches high. Hard to tell for sure if bedding were also being kicked out (same material used in the nests as on the ground), and the fake eggs haven't been kicked out yet.

 

[Ridgerunner]

That blew my theory. I don't know what is happening.

 

[WesleyBeal]

The plot thickens.

Yesterday at lunchtime I collected eggs, and noticed that one of my fake wooden eggs was missing. I dug around outside the nest boxes, looked through all the eggs I'd collected over the last day to make sure I hadn't collected it and stuck it in the fridge. Nothing.

This morning I go out to give them fresh water and open the pop door, and... no nest eggs in any of the nests. They were all gone.

OK, the chickens didn't move them. They were there last night after dark when I counted my chickens and locked things up for the night.

I start searching, and back behind some 5-gallon buckets I store supplements in....




The chickens can't fit back there. There was a feed bag on top wedged between the buckets and the wall that I had to move first to see them.

So the facts:

4 Wooden eggs were moved overnight last night.

I'm mostly certain one was moved during previous day. It would be strange for me to not notice the one missing yesterday morning, as I always check the nests to be sure no one got an early start and laid an egg first thing in the morning.

Eggs have been moved out of the nests during the daytime previously.

No sign of droppings on top of or around the nests.

Given the lack of droppings and that eggs have been moved during daytime, my current chief suspect are the ground squirrels that are prolific around my place.

http://www.dnr.state.mn.us/mammals/thirteenlinedgroundsquirrel.html

They had considered the chicken coop home for the past few decades, before I moved chickens in there last year. I did a lot of trapping last summer, and haven't seen them in the coop since then. But it's spring, and they're active again now.

What I don't know is if this kind of behavior is normal for them. Have to do some research.

This also has me suspect of the broken eggs I've been finding occasionally in the nests. I've been blaming this on the chickens, and their overly rambunctious nest arranging of late. May be a different culprit (which is kind of a relief, actually).

 

[chickens really]

No one seams to know this.....Hens can carry eggs under their wings...You might have a Hen who is wanting to go broody and only takes the real eggs...?...I had egg wars here with two Broody Hens that kept moving eggs from each other's nests.......


Cheers!

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

Could be rats.