Floor Eggs: The Lighting Variable Most Layer Farmers Overlook

If you are managing a layer house, you know the frustration. You walk in at collection time and there they are: eggs on the floor, away from the nests, already at risk of being soiled or cracked. Floor eggs are one of the most persistent and costly production problems in commercial egg production, and they are often treated as a management or genetics issue.

But here is something worth considering in many cases, it can be a lighting problem.

Why hens lay eggs on the floor?

Hens are not randomly choosing to avoid the nests. They are following instinct. In the wild, laying hens seek out darker, sheltered spots to lay their eggs. In a barn, if the lighting environment does not clearly distinguish the nesting area as the most attractive place to lay, hens will find their own alternatives.

Several lighting factors directly influence where hens choose to lay.

Light intensity gradients matter more than most farmers realise. Hens are drawn to areas with lower light intensity when nesting. If the light intensity in the nests is too high, or the light intensity in the system or on the floor are too low, hens will lay eggs in the darker areas and not in the nests. The nest area should be perceived as the sheltered, lower-light zone within the house.

Uneven light distribution creates unintended hotspots. When light levels vary significantly across the barn floor, bright patches become areas hens avoid for resting and nesting. They congregate in the dimmer zones instead, and if those zones happen to be on the floor rather than near the nests, eggs will be laid on the floor
This is particularly common in aviary where light distribution beneath the tiers is uneven. The BUBO was developed specifically to address this: its design ensures optimal light distribution both inside the system and beneath it, eliminating the dark spots that attract hens to lay on the floor.

Spectrum and colour rendering affect how hens perceive their environment.

Poultry sees way more colours than we do which means hens see their surroundings very differently from how we do. Lighting that does not account for the avian visual spectrum can make nest boxes appear uninviting even when they seem perfectly adequate to the human eye.

The timing of light also plays a role 

Beyond the physical distribution of light, the photoperiod programme you run has a direct effect on nesting behaviour. If lights come on too abruptly in the morning, hens that are ready to lay will settle wherever they happen to be at that moment, including inside the system or on the floor.

A gradual, controlled light onset - sometimes called a dawn simulation - gives hens time to move to the nesting area before the laying urge becomes urgent. This is a simple programme change that can meaningfully reduce ground egg rates in many flocks. The CORAX supports full daylight simulation with smooth 0 to 100% dimming, making it straightforward to run the kind of gradual transitions that work with your flock's natural behaviour rather than against it.

Additionally, a controlled and gradual light onset reduces the pressure on the nest boxes. Because hens triggered by minimal light will go earlier to the nests, while hens triggered by more light go later to the nest boxes. Consequently, the visits to the nest boxes are better spread over the morning period.