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Chickens are naturally eager to reproduce and therefore look for a quiet, clean and safe place to lay their eggs. In the poultry house, they behave in the same way, so it is very important to create the right conditions that will allow them to fulfill this instinctive need. This is described in the article of the magazine “Our Poultry Farming”.
To understand why broilers sometimes lay eggs outside their nests, it is necessary to find out what criteria they use when choosing a location. As part of the study, an experiment was conducted to compare different types of nests.
For this purpose, four types of nests were used, which were tested on six groups of poultry - 100 hens and 9 roosters each. The nest types included: a plastic nest; a plastic nest with a partition creating two separate zones; a plastic nest with a vent at the bottom creating a draft; and a wooden nest. During the first 12 weeks of laying, the number of eggs laid in each design was recorded.
The results showed that 80% of the hens preferred the wooden nests.
A well-designed nest prevents eggs from being laid on the floor, which has a positive effect on their quality. There are several key design requirements that must be met:
- Wooden walls - this material inspired the greatest confidence among the chickens in the experiment.
- Absence of drafts - chickens are very sensitive to them and avoid such nests, so they can lay eggs on the floor.
- Nest size - a nest that is too large causes anxiety in the bird, which also increases the risk of laying eggs outside the nest.
In addition, it is emphasized that broiler roosters must be provided with constant and unlimited access to clean water.
14/04/2025
