chickens - they did it again

[shaper]

Twelve days ago I posted about finding 29 eggs my chickens hid from me. I reworked the floor boards and closed all of the holes they could get through. But I would find only one to two eggs per day. Then I found them today. 21 eggs hidden under a board i put in place so they could walk on to get to the second and third roost. They will have to fly up there now. I put the eggs in water and none of them will float. Now I have to wash all of the poo off.
I am now wondering if I am smarter than a chicken, or not.

[StolzerandSons]

If you don't wash them you can store them much longer. Fresh eggs have a membrane on them when first laid that hardens within minutes and prevents air from penetrating the shell. If you wash them you remove this membrane and air will then slowly penetrate the shell, eventually allowing them to float. Just because an egg floats doesn't mean it is bad, it just isn't as good as it could be. We've been known to leave our eggs in the bucket on the counter for a week or more before washing them and either selling them or putting them in the fridge. Never had a bad one in close to 20 years of raising our own.

[jsizemore]

My friend has laying box setup like what's pictured made out of 1/2" cdx plywood that was left over scrap. golf ball in the nest got them used to laying there.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00474OR54...a-274089026523

[starmac]

We always had a regular row of nests generally two or three rows high. Either commercial metal ones or homebuilt wood ones in the hen house. I do not know if you can even still get them, but we used glass eggs to keep in the nest. They did double duty and killed any snake that ate them.

You just haven't lived until you get home after dark and reach in a nest and grab a snake. lol

[StolzerandSons]

Or a packrat runs up your arm before jumping onto the floor.