10 ways to encourage your hens lay eggs in nest boxes

Chicken in a nest with eggs [iStockphoto]

Producing clean table eggs from a flock raised in a deep litter system has always been a big challenge to most poultry farmers. It even becomes a tall order during the rainy season when the litter quality deteriorates, and you experience wet litter all over the place and more so around the drinkers. Dirty eggs can carry harmful bacteria and if these bacteria enter the yolk through micropores on the shell surface and if not properly cooked, they can potentially cause food poisoning. So, as farmers go about their farming business, here are 10 things you can do to encourage hens to lay their eggs in clean nest boxes. There will be no need to discard dirty eggs again with these little steps.