Dropping an egg while roosting

[Sophie442]

I feel like my chickens are going crazy! I have one that's broody (unrelated to my question) and here's the latest weird thing. Yesterday I got less eggs than normal. Well, a friend stopped over and wanted to see our coop. The chickens were already roosting for the night. All of the sudden they heard a big thud! Someone layed an egg from her roosting spot, it broke, and they all jumped down and ate the broken egg! I understand the eating but why would she drop an egg at night that way???

 

[Defjam]

My new chickens (a year ago and now recently with my latest new batch) had laid eggs while roosting. I chalked it up to "I'm just getting this laying thing down and don't know any better" syndrome. However, a few weeks ago, one of my year old New Hampshires repeated the anomaly. I didn't worry to much about it because it isn't a common problem.
What I'm worried about for you is the group "plopping down from the roost and munching on the egg" situation. I would monitor that closely because the last thing you want is a group of egg eaters.

It is normal for hens to not lay here and there...most of the time it is clockwork with their rate/schedule, but not always.

Dj

 

[azygous]

I have two lazy little hens who lay from the roosting perch like clockwork. They have been laying long enough to know where the nest boxes are, but my five-year old Wyandotte and fourteen-month old Welsummer plop their eggs down on the poop boards every other night for me to find next morning.

The most I can hope for is for the eggs to have missed the poop and for them to be only superficially damaged so I can still eat them. Why do they do this? You got me.

 

[Sophie442]

Well, my hubby collected eggs this morning and I think we now have an egg eater. I am getting a little frustrated! Anyhoo, we had less eggs than normal and evidence of yolk in the box. Now I'm off to search the forums to figure out how to handle THIS problem.

 

[iwiw60]

Here's some more info for you:

http://www.the-chicken-chick.com/search?q=egg+eater

 

[scubaharry]

Here is the poop catcher under there roost. Works great. I clean it with a shop VAC and I hen in the compost. When the girls started laying, I found a egg in there. May be a solution to your problem.