Hens push out all nest box bedding

[Muffett]

My girls don’t kick any bedding out because of the lip in front but they clear the center which leaves a hard floor and I’m getting broken eggs and eggs with a punctured end! Why? Are they being rough? Each box also has a fake egg.

 

[Mrs. K]

Line the nest with a piece of cardboard. Cut it so it fits pretty tightly. That will keep eggs from breaking, and if it gets soiled, it is easy to pull out and clean the nest. Then put the bedding on top of that in a nest shape.

I have always used old waste hay, last summer they all went on strike and would create a nest on the floor and everyone laid in it. I cleaned the nest boxes, I tried different bedding, different fake eggs...still on the floor.

Then one day, they went back to laying in the nest. I did have a broody hen that brooded in the nest box, she was top hen, and maybe scared everyone else out of laying there?

Mrs K

 

[Muffett]

Line the nest with a piece of cardboard. Cut it so it fits pretty tightly. That will keep eggs from breaking, and if it gets soiled, it is easy to pull out and clean the nest. Then put the bedding on top of that in a nest shape.

I have always used old waste hay, last summer they all went on strike and would create a nest on the floor and everyone laid in it. I cleaned the nest boxes, I tried different bedding, different fake eggs...still on the floor.

Then one day, they went back to laying in the nest. I did have a broody hen that brooded in the nest box, she was top hen, and maybe scared everyone else out of laying there?

Mrs K

I think she may have! Once in a great while I’ll get an egg on the floor or in the outdoor run. They’re good about using their nesting boxes. But they all seem to want box number one. One day there was 4 hens crammed in!