Beginning to lay/eating eggs?

[Aml91]

Hello,
My first three hens (Barred Rock) are 20 weeks old. In week 19 one laid an egg in a nest of her own choice, then for about a week she laid in the nesting box in the coop. I tried keeping them in the coop longer in the mornings, and that was working. Then one morning we found them pecking a floppy shell in the box, like one had laid a soft egg then they ate it. I think they may have eaten a hard shell egg as well. Now a second hen has laid once in the coop, but the first one doesn't seem to be layint regularly.
I'm trying to balance between keeping them from eating the eggs and training them to lay where I want. I'm home a lot anyway, but we do have vacation in a few weeks. Any ideas how to train them to lay without letting them start bad habits too?

 

[rosemarythyme]

New layers are expected to be erratic in where they lay and in egg quality. So far it doesn't yet sound concerning.

Keeping fake eggs in the nests can help show them where you want them to lay, and frequently picking up eggs that are dropped in other locations will tell them that their chosen spot isn't safe so they'll seek out safer places (like the nests with fakes) to lay.