Broken Egg

[claychick]

I have sort of a hodge-podge flock. A barred rock, a brown sexlink, 2 leghorns and a rescued new england red. I'm getting about 4 eggs a day. I had the red all alone.. before I got the others and I know she lays giant brown eggs. Now i'm getting a small white egg, a med cream colored egg and a medium white egg. But everytime I get a med white egg it's broken. None of the other ones are ever cracked or broken but I have never gotten the med white egg unbroken. i have to throw it out everytime. What's going on? I cant tell if it's getting pecked or just breaking in the laying process. Is it possible that it's coming out defective?

 

[Laigaie]

The eggshells you're finding, are they thin or brittle? What have you got in your nestbox? Are they all laying in the nestbox?

 

[sunny & the 5 egg layers]

Do you ever feed you chickens there eggshells or eggs back to them?

 

[claychick]

It feels like a normal egg shell to me ??? It may be a little thin, but not soft. I've never fed them their shells back to them. Am I supposed to?

 

[claychick]

Oh, and I have 4 nest boxes. They are not all sharing one. I put hay or pine shavings in them. It doesn't seem to matter which box the med white egg is laid in either.. cause i've found it in all.

 

[sunny & the 5 egg layers]

Quote:
No, you aren't really suppose to because once you start feeding them their own eggs back, they will turn around and eat their eggs after they lay them, and you wont get any eggs because they will eat them all. This is hard to break them of once it is started.
I only asked because I figured your chicken could be pecking at the eggs because she was fed the eggs before.

 

[claychick]

Oh i See. Well, I just got her so i'm not sure what she's done in the past... but I don't give them to them and it's weird that it's only the med sized white ones!

 

[FuzzyButtsFarm]

sunny & the 5 egg layers :

Quote:
No, you aren't really suppose to because once you start feeding them their own eggs back, they will turn around and eat their eggs after they lay them, and you wont get any eggs because they will eat them all. This is hard to break them of once it is started.
I only asked because I figured your chicken could be pecking at the eggs because she was fed the eggs before.

I've been feeding ground eggs shells to my laying hens from day one and none of them eat the eggs. I grind them in the blender and they look nothing like egg shells.​