Pro - Does anyone else's nest boxes get soaked in rain?

[hetty the hen]

Hi, please help! I have a egloo classic and now that it is getting colder at night I'm shutting the coop door every night. When I opened the door this morning I was greeted to three eggs but only one was in the nesting box and the other two were on on the bars and one was broken. We have three girls who were born earlier this year. Any ideas why they are doing this? Thank you

[Chickabee]

How cold is it where you are? I rarely close the pop holes on my elgus. Sounds like they're just young and a bit confused, once one lays on the bars they'll all have a go. You could try placing a couple of fake eggs or golf balls in the nesting area. Also they've laid before you've let them out they're probably all scrabbling around in there and that's why they get broken. Good luck hope it gets sorted soon

[hetty the hen]

Thank you, what sort of temperature would you shut the pop hole? I think you are right re scrabbling around! Two eggs in the nesting box this morning and evidence of the remains of a soft one in the run, my husband opened the pop hole very early. I do give them eggshells but not in a separate pot so that is the next expense!!

[Chickabee]

It has to be minus 5 ish although I've been caught out before and not shut it when it's been this cold and they've been fine

[emmalou]

I raised this a while ago and received no response so well done! One of mine has been doing it every night for the past 2 weeks. They can access the nest boxes all night too but are still using the roosting bars. I got the impression it was no big deal and put it down to the darker mornings and their age and being newish to laying??

[Cat tails]

Hens are virtually blind in the dark. So it might well be that they just can't quite find the nestbox in the dark.

 

Btw I close my coop every night (even when it's 35 degrees in summer.) I open the coop at first light when they wake me with their clucking. (I sleep on the ground floor with my window open and my garden is small, so their sounds wake me up very quickly)

[Blackrocksrock]

I have occasionally had this but the other hen was laying in the classic nest box at the time - I never close the pop hole unless its really really cold - we have the eglu run on the classic covered with clear plastic sheets and its cosy - I live in the north of Scotland where snow and frost are very common and never had a problem with them being cold.

[Cat tails]

I don't do it for the cold, but for the sound...

In summer they otherwise tend to wake up at 4:30 demanding their breakfast...

[hetty the hen]

I think I may put more plastic on the run, there are two covers on but lots of gaps. Latest problem is one of the girls is flying to the top of the gate and escaping into our main garden and digging up my new garlic!!