Laying eggs so hard they break?

[MaLoTu]

These are from yesterday and today. The one that is just fractured looking was yesterday. The busted one I just found.
Is this a normal thing to happen. The eggs have been in the nesting box, but they kick everything out of the box so all that's left is the plywood.

The egg did not have a ruptured membrane. However it is about 100 degrees out and the egg sat outside (in the covered box) for an unknown time less than 5 hours. Is it ok to eat?

 

[Rhetts]

I have also been getting broken eggs here and there. I sometimes wonder if the one in your first picture is from a peck from the chicken? I have pullets coming into laying and I am thinking when I see those eggs like in your first picture I think maybe they are pecking them but not enough to get to the good stuff.

I have seen the eggs crack when they are laid like in your second picture. I also have plywood that the hens scrape bare. Still trying to think of what to put down so they can't do that.

As far as eating them goes, I would think if you ate them today it would be ok. We eat the broken ones asap as long as the membrane is still intact. I haven't read or been told not to so I figured as long as I did it the day I get the eggs is should be ok.

Maybe there will be someone with a better idea of what might be going on.

 

[WNCcluck]

I wouldn't eat an egg that was cracked before it was brought in. The whole shell is designed for keeping bacteria out from the incubating chick. Of course, it protects the non-fertilized egg as well.

As for keeping the bedding in, have you tried fresh bedding? Is the "lip" on front of the nesting boxes high enough?

 

[MaLoTu]

I wouldn't eat an egg that was cracked before it was brought in. The whole shell is designed for keeping bacteria out from the incubating chick. Of course, it protects the non-fertilized egg as well.

As for keeping the bedding in, have you tried fresh bedding? Is the "lip" on front of the nesting boxes high enough?

I use hay. The lip is small, but I don't think it would matter if it was any higher (within what we can accommodate in that space).

 

[MaLoTu]

I have also been getting broken eggs here and there.  I sometimes wonder if the one in your first picture is from a peck from the chicken?  I have pullets coming into laying and I am thinking when I see those eggs like in your first picture I think maybe they are pecking them but not enough to get to the good stuff.  

I have seen the eggs crack when they are laid like in your second picture.  I also have plywood that the hens scrape bare.  Still trying to think of what to put down so they can't do that. 

As far as eating them goes, I would think if you ate them today it would be ok.  We eat the broken ones asap as long as the membrane is still intact.  I haven't read or been told not to so I figured as long as I did it the day I get the eggs is should be ok.

Maybe there will be someone with a better idea of what might be going on.  

I am not sure if it was pecked, but it looks like the one before except all the way through. It is peculiar because of the circular hole.

 

[aart]

The one with the hole.....is the shell thinner in that area?

Mine scratch down to the wood nest bottom too, right in the middle,
but I don't get any broken or cracked ones as enough straw remains around the outer edge of nest to create a cushion for the egg to land on then it rolls down to the center of the 'straw bowl'.

You can get nest pads:
http://www.flemingoutdoors.com/kuhl-plastic-nest-pads.html?ref=lexity&_vs=google&_vm=productsearch

They make door mats that are similar that would probably work too, and easier to find in a store.

 

[Deckgirls]

mine scratched down to the wood also and this was happening. so decided to try those nesting box pads on amazon and i LOVE them!!!!

 

[MaLoTu]

I will try those pads. Thank you!

The only pads I have seen before were at Home Depot and they costed $30

. I feel much more comfortable spending $4.

 

[MaLoTu]

The one with the hole.....is the shell thinner in that area

It doesn't seem to be thinner where the hole is. It could be a product of a chicken pecking but, I don't think it is likely. The membrane is in tact and none of the other eggs have been pecked, even the soft shell ones. The only 2 that have been laid in a box are the only ones that have had this happen.

 

[aart]

I will try those pads. Thank you!

The only pads I have seen before were at Home Depot and they costed $30

. I feel much more comfortable spending $4.

But shipping will be 8-9 bucks I bet...look for the similar door mats at HD.