bad problem, i need input

[can you hear me now?]

i have just bought some hens from the guy i usually buy chicks from. He is having a problem with racoons and doesn't want anymore chickens to die. one of these was a white leghorn that layed an egg about 6 hours after she got there. We watched it, but then she pecked it open and started to eat it. Is this caused by the stress of her move or is she going to continue to do this and i am going to have to cull her from the flock?She is a beautiful hen and i would hate to do that unless I absolutely had to. Here is a picture of her.

 

[panner123]

Give her some time. It could be just the move. Some hens will break an egg they think is no good (cracked).

 

[rooster-red]

More than likely she will continue to do it, unless confined to a coop with a rollaway nest box.

 

[Linda in San Diego]

Do you want eggs or chicks? I would collect as soon as possible. I am NOT a chicken person YET, but I have raised parrots for quite a while. We have a problem female, any eggs are removed ASAP and incubated. No success yet, but we don't want her to continue her destructive behaviors.

 

[can you hear me now?]

Actually I am looking to breed here and looking for eggs afterwards. She began to peck at the egg almost instantly. My son and i were looking in on them when she decided to use the nesting box to lay in. My RIR doesn't seem to have a problem with it i was just hoping the egg busting could be a one time thing because of moving her and the stress. Going to breed her with a brown leghor and see what color comes out of a cross.

 

[Mahonri]

Watch her close. I think Browns X White shoul still give you some beautiful chickens.

 

[can you hear me now?]

I think they would make great chickens too that os one of the reasons i want to keep her but i will have to try to figure out how to keep the eggs. Maybe i will try to build a box that has a compartment underneath so she can't get to em after she lays em but am having trouble figuring out whether or not she will lay em if there is a hole in the box.

 

[carwinew]

Try building a box with a sloping floor, back wall gapped at the bottom enough for the egg to roll under and into a channel with a soft backing material so the egg won't break as it rolls to the back under the wall.

 

[can you hear me now?]

thank you again i think that will fix the problem if i can bring myself to get off of my butt to do that. my boxes are built on top of each other i have 8 of em but i think the bottom ones will be used the most so i am going to do it to the bottom ones. maybe i will use old dresser drawers to put under there filled with hay. how many boxes should i have for 30 hens, which is what i will be bringing the flock up to anyone know?

 

[SpottedCrow]

My Jerry Remy and Obelisk the Tormentor are Black and White Leghorn mixes.
He grew up to look like an Exchequer Leghorn and she's almost completely black with a couple of white splashed feathers.