Broken eggs

[Enel]

Hi guys I am rather new to the joys of having chickens and fresh eggs, I have been having a problem with my eggs though, I am not sure if its my hen pecking at the egg or if its the drop thats causing it, but im getting a lot of these:



Nothing leaks out so I take it I could still make use of them within a few days or so right? I've tried adding thicker and more bedding but she keeps pushing it all away to form her nest.

Thanks everyone

enel.

 

[WindStep]

I get eggs like that too.

 

[aart]

What are you using for nest bedding?

 

[Enel]

Hi, thanks for replies, I use a mixture of straw and this finer type grass (Not sure what you call it) Some eggs come out fine, and others are cracked, but she keeps laying in the same spot, I tried to increase the thickness of the bedding by her nesting area but she just keeps making her spot the same!

 

[aart]

Might put a piece of carpet or those fake plastic grass mats on the bottom.

 

[Ridgerunner]

How high is the lip on that nest? Is she raking out the bedding while arranging the bedding?

Have you checked for nails or screws sticking up that the egg might be hitting? That looks like it is the fat end. That’s the end of the egg that comes out first. Is it normally on the fat end? Is it just one nest?

How thick are those egg shells? Is that just one hen which would make it a hen problem or is it across the flock which makes it a flock problem?

If it is an individual hen problem, some hens just don’t process the calcium right. If the others are laying thick-shelled eggs and you up their overall calcium, you may be hurting the other hens by forcing them to eat more calcium than they need. If it is a flock problem, offer oyster shell on the side and maybe reduce the amount of low- calcium stuff you are feeding them.

That does not look that much like pecking or a claw damaging it when the hen is rearranging the eggs, though that is possible, especially if the shell is thin.

It’s hard to guess with any accuracy when you’re not there looking at it. I’d check the shell thickness to start with, but I think I’d take all that bedding out and look for sharp things that might be puncturing the eggs even if it is a shell thickness problem. Fix that if you find it. Look at raising the lip if that looks like it might be a problem.

As far as the eggs being safe to use. That’s a hard one. That cracked shell gives bacteria an easy way in. The egg material inside is the perfect medium for bacteria to grow. A lot of scientists use eggs to culture bacteria, it’s such a good food for them. If you gather the egg real soon and eat it immediately, it’s probably OK, but I would not do it or feed it to my family. It’s not worth the risk to me. Eggs just aren’t that precious to me.

 

[TheChickInn]

I agree with Ridgerunner......I would first make sure their diet is well balanced and make sure to offer them free choice oyster shell calcium. Sometimes there will be a hen or two that loves to eat eggs, I used to have one that would peck the eggs until they broke and have herself a fresh egg buffet. Also, you might want to look at your nesting box set-up. I used to have ALL of my chickens lay in the same nesting box- all of the traffic stepping over the nest of eggs would leave some of them cracked. I ended up using dummy eggs to get them to use some of the other nest boxes, and have not had to deal with that issue again. I personally would not eat a cracked egg ( bacteria can enter once the shell is compromised). If I ever have an egg that is cracked, frozen, etc. I cook them up and feed them back to the chickens, my dog or cat.

 

[keystone]

I was getting the same dents in our eggs. It was from the "drop". I ordered nesting pads from Cuttler Supply online. The pad cushions the fall and keeps the egg clean. I tried carpet but it caught dust and dirt. The pads can be taken out and washed off if needed. Better to correct the "drop" problem before the hens figure there is something delicious inside.
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