It ’s mid - April , clip for spring flowers , quick rainwater showers and the soft , promising Green River that signals the season of rebirth … well , for some of us . In parts of the United States , winter still thrives , with C. P. Snow squall , ice storms and subfreezing temperatures . The weather might be confusing to us humans , but it ’s even more so to the chickens . Hens are producing eggs in unmediated correlation to the increase in daylight , and they do n’t translate that a blizzard is rile outside . As a result , we sometimes open our nestboxes to discover frozen , cracked eggs .
It ’s dishearten to see our girls ’ try become casualty of capricious atmospheric condition . It can also be unenviable if we have customers waiting for their new laid dozen . Until the prognosis bids farewell to the polar precipitation — which is n’t until June in some part of the country — finding icy egg in our coop is a distinct and distressing possibility . Minimize your nestbox losses by strain one of these pickle .
Line Your Layers’ Workplace
Having more than the minimum amount of litter in your nestboxes goes a prospicient room to protecting freshly laid bollock . An extra couple of inch not only provide protective padding to receive the eggs , it also helps isolate against the frigidity . For an superfluous fender against the thrill , position dryer lint underneath the nestbox bedding . Your hens will appreciate the additional comfort , too .
Expand the Basket Task
leave orchis in the nest for too recollective during wintry weather condition is an almost sure guaranty that they will freeze . They exit the hens at about105 degreesand encounter a drop in temperature of 70 degree or more . In those below - freezing conditions , the vitellus and albumen quickly set about to solidify . Limit your eggs ’ exposure to the cold by call for them more frequently throughout the Clarence Day . If your schedule keep you aside from your henhouse , arrange for you child — or that of a neighbour — or a trusty friend to collect eggs before and after school .
Home Improvements
If your chicken coop has wiggle room , consider remodeling . Adding insulating sheathing to your nestbox conception increases heat retention during wintertime ( and decoct the transfer of out-of-door heat during summer ) to help oneself keep your eggs from freezing . Make certain that no insularism is exposed , as this is a potential threat to inquisitive chickens . Also ensure that you retain the dimensions of your nestboxes . Each box should measureat least 12 inch in high spirits , wide and deep(and larger for bigger birds ) ; if adding an insulation layer will reduce the size of it of your nestbox , view a different alternative .
What About the Frozen Eggs?
Frozen eggs in themselves are not tough . In fact , freeze nut — by either separating the yolks from the White or beating them together — is an effective way tostore your surplus . However , egg that freeze in the nestbox should be throw away now , peculiarly if the shell has cracked . shell are porous ; with an exposed interior , the egg is more susceptible to contamination . dispatch and dispose of all frozen and crack orchis and verify your nestbox bedding material has not been soiled by raw eggs that might have seeped through the eggshell crack in case it begin to thaw .
