Am I in for some trouble? (hens eating eggs)

[Nonny]

Poor DS dropped both our eggs today on his way back from collecting them, and the chooks were all hovering pretty close and dived at the broken eggs on the ground and started eating them. I shooed them away until I had cleaned up, but I'm worried that they seemed to really enjoy them! Does this automatically mean I'll need to watch out for them eating their own in the nest?

 

[greyhorsewoman]

No.

 

[duckinnut]

The thing I have learned about chickens is that the learn quickly but they also forget just as quick. What the learned yesterday they have forgoten today. Not sure why that is . I leave the run open during the day to area where they free range,so if I throw something out into the free range area the ones in the run forget how to get out. Eventhough they are standing right next to the gate. Funny,fir the life of me I cant figure out why they cant remember.

 

[Mama_hen]

About hens eating their own eggs, I have found for myself that they don't. My girls lay almost all in one nest, every now and then one will lay a soft egg, not sure why, but they all tend to pick at it and they even fight to eat it. I have tried to get it from them and have managed to get a little bit of it but for the most part they haven't tried to eat their own eggs. My fahter-in-law has seen this while his visit and has said that we need to isolate the hen due to her becoming an egg eater, my husband told him that our ladies have shown no sign of eating eggs on a daily bases. The best thing to do is to watch them and see if they would even start to eat their own eggs, if not then they're fine, according to my husband.

 

[seminolewind]

I put golf balls in the nests-just in case!

 

[Animalian]

I remember learning when I was little that chickens would always eat a broken egg to stop predators smelling it and therefore finding the flock. That it was only random 'naughty' chickens that would do it for pleasure.

If they ever do end up egg eater there are ways around it like roll away nest boxes https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?pid=1463000

 

[pontoosuc]

Sometimes when they decided to all lay in the same box one of the eggs gets broken and they will eat it.

It's not been a regular thing.

 

[Nonny]

Thanks for the replies - I feel a lot better now.

duckinnut - That's so funny about your chooks not finding the gate.... I have one particularly silly hen who does this when I throw treats out in the yard for them. She'll be the one still stuck in the run and pacing frantically back and forth against the fence right next to the gate, while the other two are already snapping up the treats.

 

[duckinnut]

Quote:
I think at these times their body is working quicker than their brain,its funny to watch at the same time I am asking them how the heck did you forget to get out. Times like these they show their ancestrial T-Rex DNA.

I had an egg break in the nest box and 1 hen spent the day checking it for more even though I cleaned it out and put in fresh shavings. The next day it was like it never happened. wish I could be that forgetful.