How to Build an Egg Catcher

Building an egg catcher for your hen house allows you to collect eggs more easily as well as keeping the eggs clean and free from eating by the chickens. Integrating an egg catcher into your roosting box design is the easiest way to build one, but you can also adapt this design to modify existing roosting boxes.

Difficulty: Moderately Challenging

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• PVC eavestroughing the length of your roosting boxes
• 3 brackets for PVC eavestroughing
• 2 endcaps for PVC eavestroughing
• Length of artificial turf 3 inches wide and the length of your roosting boxes
• Circular or reciprocating saw
• 3 large hinges

1. When installing roosting boxes, make sure that they tilt backward towards the wall of the hen house by at least a 25 degree angle. The roosting boxes will be attached to the sides and floor of the henhouse but not to the back wall of the henhouse to allow for an access flap. Leave a minimum of six inches between the open back of the roosting boxes and the back hen house wall.

2. Attach the length of eavestroughing to the back of the roosting boxes by the eavestroughing brackets so that the top of the eavestrough is level with the bottom edge of the roosting boxes so that the eggs will roll gently from the roosting boxes into the eavestrough. Attach the endcaps to the length of eavestroughing.

3. Line the bottom of the length of eavestrough with the artificial turf to cushion the egg when it drops in. It will curve downward but will soften the curve of the eavestrough so that the egg will be more protected. It is useful to line the bottom of the roosting boxes with artificial turf as well to give the egg a smooth and consistent surface on which to roll.

4. Cut a "window" from the back wall of the hen house. The bottom of the window should extend downward to at least the bottom edge of the eavestrough. The window length should be the same as the length of the roosting boxes. The height of the window needs only to be two feet- just enough room to reach through to collect the eggs.

5. Attach the hinges to either end and the middle of the top of the egg collection window so that the flap flips upwards. If desired, you can attach a string to the bottom flap of the egg collection window that can be wound around a nail above the upper edge of the flap to hold the window open as you are collecting the eggs. Otherwise, you can simply collect with one hand and hold the window open with the other.

6. At least annually, remove the strip of artificial turf and wash thoroughly with a pressure sprayer. Fill the eavestrough with water and 1/2 cup bleach (make sure chickens do not have access). Soak for 1 hour and then rinse thoroughly with water from the hose.