The following are some basic sanitation recommendations for various aspects of hobby flock management. House or Pen Keep the floor of the house or pen dry. Hens will track mud and feces from wet floors into the nests, which will contaminate eggs. An excellent idea is to purchase nipple drinkers. They are relatively inexpensive and will tend to keep your pen floors drier than other types of drinkers.
Nests Have at least one nest for every three to four hens.
This is an important sanitation issue because hens will lay their eggs on the floor or ground if there are not enough nests. This will prevent the eggs from becoming soiled or broken. Egg Collection Always wash your hands before collecting eggs. Collect nest eggs first, put them in storage, then go back to collect floor eggs. When an egg is very dirty, do not incubate it.