These are our laying bins. They are used only for the females to lay eggs. Females will pig out weeks prior to laying their eggs, and then just stop eating. They starting digging continuously and become anxious; sometimes running around the cage. We then put them in one of the egg laying cages below. Usually, you can feel the eggs in the female's belly if they are fertile. If they are not fertile eggs you may not feel them but she still needs to expel them.


 

This is a closer look at inside the egglaying bins. We make a 3 sided wall with the bottom made from plywood, and set it in the cage. The boxes are used to save the cages from damage from the constant moisture and digging of the females. Every year we throw out the boxes and make newe ones.   We use topsoil as a medium. You want the soil just damp enough so it clumps together. We pack the dirt about 10 inches high, on a slope, against one side of the box. Then we begin to dig out a burrow for the female. We start digging the hole so that when  we notice that the hole is backfilled - we know she is done laying the eggs.  This way we don't have to keep checking the female for eggs to tell if she laid or not. Temperture of the dirt should be around 85 degrees or so. Many times, the females will wait until late afternoon to lay their eggs. We believe they are waiting for the dirt to heat up a bit.