BR first egg, then they ate it!

[Trina0889]

I have a (first time) small flock of 7 and this morning when I let them out I noticed they were acting strange, when I looked in their coop there was yolk everywhere! Turns out one of my two BRs laid their first egg last night or this morning and it was shell-less and they all ate it! Should I be worried about further egg eating in the future? Or is this more than likely an isolated incident since it was shell-less and she probably laid it on the floor?

 

[Kyah_02]

I have a (first time) small flock of 7 and this morning when I let them out I noticed they were acting strange, when I looked in their coop there was yolk everywhere! Turns out one of my two BRs laid their first egg last night or this morning and it was shell-less and they all ate it! Should I be worried about further egg eating in the future? Or is this more than likely an isolated incident since it was shell-less and she probably laid it on the floor?

It could have been layed on the ground and they thought it was strange and pecked it trying to see what it was, my RIR layed her first egg on the porch standing up, maybe that’s what your chick did and it broke. There’s many possibilities but I wouldn’t worry too much unless it’s frequent

 

[Trish1974]

Or is this more than likely an isolated incident since it was shell-less and she probably laid it on the floor?

This. At least that has been my experience. When a shell less egg is on the coop floor in the mornings they go at it like it's a pile of mealworms! But yet when normal eggs are in a nest box they leave them alone.

 

[Trina0889]

This. At least that has been my experience. When a shell less egg is on the coop floor in the mornings they go at it like it's a pile of mealworms! But yet when normal eggs are in a nest box they leave them alone.

This is what I'm hoping for! Especially since it was her first egg!

 

[LittleMissCountry]

My buff orpingtons first egg was a soft shell that she laid under the roosting bar at night. They ate it. I only found the membrane. Then she started laying in the nesting box. My other laying pullet has had several soft or shell-less eggs, and sometimes they get eaten as well. No one has tried to eat the hard shelled ones.

 

[CannedMonster]

One thing that can help is putting fake eggs (you can get them at feed stores) or even golf balls in the nesting boxes.
This does two things:
One is that it helps new layers to understand that it’s a good safe place to lay an egg.
The 2nd is that as they peck the fake eggs it doesn’t break and they lose interest in messing with them.

 

[Acre4Me]

Just happened to me. One layed her first egg that was shell-less in the run. Before I could pick it up, they pecked it open ...not wanting them to recognize raw egg, the best I could do at that moment was to kick the run dirt and debris over it. They still pecked at the area, though. So far, I think only 2 girls (out of 12) have begun laying. The shelled eggs that have been layed have been in the nest box and none of the chickens have messed with those.