New Equipment!

 

Here's that new equipment that you've been waiting to see! 

This is the new nesting box where the chickens will (and have been) laying their eggs! This is a roll-away style, which means that once an egg is laid, it rolls downhill into a collection tray that the hens can't access, which prevents eggs from getting broken, cracked, or dirty. The best part in my opinion is that the tray that holds the eggs can slide out, and I can access it without having to walk into the barn. It definitely makes egg collection go faster, and limits the amount of times the birds have to be disturbed. This box is rated for 120 chickens, but could probably handle a little more than that! Thankfully my grandpa was able to help me out on this one, as it was a much needed addition for all the new chickens this year!

All the structural components are made from galvanized steel, so its very durable and rust-resistant. Our first roll-away nest box is rated for 75 hens and has a similar design, but is more suited for wall-mounted applications. 

All this being said, what does this mean for you? 

Simply put, this nest box allows for more eggs to be produced due to less loss to breaking, cracking, ect... Before switching to these roll-away nest boxes, the regular wood nest boxes were used. Those boxes allowed the hens to sit on the eggs, and the boxes were constantly in need of new nesting material. The problem(s) with those were that many eggs would get broken or cracked each day, a lot of the eggs would consequently be covered in broken egg, and of course, whatever dirt the hens tracked in. However, now that the switch to all roll-away boxes was made, I've only seen about 3 broken eggs (most likely due to a weak spot in the shell), which means that there are more eggs (while not tons) that can get put in a carton.