I know this comes up occasionally, and I've read other threads, but every situation is different so I wanted to post mine as well, and get some opinions...
I have 5 pullets that are 9 months old. The 3 Orpingtons started laying one by one about two months ago and everything was perfect - never an egg outside the nesting box, no egg eating, no soft shelled eggs, no nesting box drama. No change to the others' behavior when a new layer started out. Easy.
The Barnevelders both started laying just 2 weeks ago, quite a bit later than the Orps. And that's when things changed... I started finding eggs outside in the run, or on the coop floor - eggs belonging to the Orps, not to the newest layers. And as of last week, I started finding broken eggs, too! The first broken egg was on the coop floor immediately in front of the nesting box, and it was laid in the morning before I went out to collect (I check every night after they go to bed). It looked downright smashed, and was not eaten, so I thought it was an accident. I do have one dumb chicken (dumb in general, not as an insult in this context) who sticks her butt out of the nesting box while in there, so I assumed she missed the box and dropped it on the floor. The boxes are big enough and sometimes she sits properly. None of the other chickens do that.
A few days later I found another broken egg, this time inside the nesting box, and this time the break looked like it was pecked open. The third broken egg a few days later was also in the nesting box, and this time there was barely anything left from it - it was mostly eaten! And the latest broken egg so far was just outside the nesting box again, and again with a beak-shaped break in it, but not eaten.
For context: the pullets eat flock raiser crumble that's 20% protein. Treats are a couple times a week, mostly mealworms, sunflower seeds or scratch. They have eggshell in a cup, crushed small, for calcium, and they love it. I refill it often. They've never laid any soft shell eggs, misshapen eggs or otherwise "problem eggs". I cook and eat their eggs every day and their shells are much harder than store-bought eggs' shells. So they shouldn't be deficient in protein or calcium, and the eggs shouldn't be overly easy to break. Also, they don't sleep in the nesting boxes or spend an unusual amount of time in there during the day. In fact, they only ever go inside the coop to lay, otherwise they are out all day.
I collect eggs at least twice during the day - early morning and mid-afternoon - and check again at night. The problem seems to be taking place very early in the morning, before I can get out there.
So, my questions. I have no evidence that that pullet's butt is dropping eggs outside of the nest... But could that have started it? There's a stepping stump in front of each nest, but never any egg remains on the stumps, which makes me think that she either sneezed the egg out and it flew over the stumps to land on the other side, or that's not what's happening. Another thing I was thinking - it's been ridiculously cold here lately, so maybe eggs are freezing and cracking, then thawing when another layer sits on them to lay hers, and she gets tempted when she gets up and sees the leaking egg. The crack pattern doesn't look consistent with freezing though.
I know it takes them a while to get used to laying, and that new layers can disrupt things. But this is becoming a problem. What do you think is going on? Is there anything I can do to stop it besides collect eggs even more often, and/or try to get out there earlier? I was thinking I could add fake eggs to the nests to discourage pecking, but I've read conflicting accounts and opinions on that - it may draw more interest to the eggs or make the chickens peck harder... Thoughts would be appreciated!
Here's the first ever broken egg, just outside the nesting boxes:
Eggs that I suspect were pecked open:
Here's the nesting box:
And this is what it looks like when occupied, when everybody is sitting properly (the pullet on the left is the one that sometimes sits with her butt sticking out)
I have 5 pullets that are 9 months old. The 3 Orpingtons started laying one by one about two months ago and everything was perfect - never an egg outside the nesting box, no egg eating, no soft shelled eggs, no nesting box drama. No change to the others' behavior when a new layer started out. Easy.
The Barnevelders both started laying just 2 weeks ago, quite a bit later than the Orps. And that's when things changed... I started finding eggs outside in the run, or on the coop floor - eggs belonging to the Orps, not to the newest layers. And as of last week, I started finding broken eggs, too! The first broken egg was on the coop floor immediately in front of the nesting box, and it was laid in the morning before I went out to collect (I check every night after they go to bed). It looked downright smashed, and was not eaten, so I thought it was an accident. I do have one dumb chicken (dumb in general, not as an insult in this context) who sticks her butt out of the nesting box while in there, so I assumed she missed the box and dropped it on the floor. The boxes are big enough and sometimes she sits properly. None of the other chickens do that.
A few days later I found another broken egg, this time inside the nesting box, and this time the break looked like it was pecked open. The third broken egg a few days later was also in the nesting box, and this time there was barely anything left from it - it was mostly eaten! And the latest broken egg so far was just outside the nesting box again, and again with a beak-shaped break in it, but not eaten.
For context: the pullets eat flock raiser crumble that's 20% protein. Treats are a couple times a week, mostly mealworms, sunflower seeds or scratch. They have eggshell in a cup, crushed small, for calcium, and they love it. I refill it often. They've never laid any soft shell eggs, misshapen eggs or otherwise "problem eggs". I cook and eat their eggs every day and their shells are much harder than store-bought eggs' shells. So they shouldn't be deficient in protein or calcium, and the eggs shouldn't be overly easy to break. Also, they don't sleep in the nesting boxes or spend an unusual amount of time in there during the day. In fact, they only ever go inside the coop to lay, otherwise they are out all day.
I collect eggs at least twice during the day - early morning and mid-afternoon - and check again at night. The problem seems to be taking place very early in the morning, before I can get out there.
So, my questions. I have no evidence that that pullet's butt is dropping eggs outside of the nest... But could that have started it? There's a stepping stump in front of each nest, but never any egg remains on the stumps, which makes me think that she either sneezed the egg out and it flew over the stumps to land on the other side, or that's not what's happening. Another thing I was thinking - it's been ridiculously cold here lately, so maybe eggs are freezing and cracking, then thawing when another layer sits on them to lay hers, and she gets tempted when she gets up and sees the leaking egg. The crack pattern doesn't look consistent with freezing though.
I know it takes them a while to get used to laying, and that new layers can disrupt things. But this is becoming a problem. What do you think is going on? Is there anything I can do to stop it besides collect eggs even more often, and/or try to get out there earlier? I was thinking I could add fake eggs to the nests to discourage pecking, but I've read conflicting accounts and opinions on that - it may draw more interest to the eggs or make the chickens peck harder... Thoughts would be appreciated!
Here's the first ever broken egg, just outside the nesting boxes:
Eggs that I suspect were pecked open:
Here's the nesting box:
And this is what it looks like when occupied, when everybody is sitting properly (the pullet on the left is the one that sometimes sits with her butt sticking out)
In both of these pictures, there's a chicken already in the box where the other chicken is sticking her head in. Maybe curtains will help with privacy (unless they stick their heads in through the curtains)... But how will that help with the egg-breaking?
)
