Buff Orphington Hen eating her eggs she is setting.

[Judys Brood]

I set a broody buff orphington on 10 eggs. One day another hen laid in her nest.
On the 13th day I checked the eggs and all was fine. I did not check on the 14th day but on the evening of the 15th day I check on her eggs while she was off the nest. She only had 8 eggs. The eggs were not rolled out on the ground and were not in the nest.
Again today I checked the nest and she has 7 eggs. I am thinking rather than get off the nest and eat , that she is eating an egg a day. There are no shells in the nest so she is eating the entire egg. What causes this and what can I do about it.

 

[nchls school]

I set a broody buff orphington on 10 eggs.     One day another hen laid in her nest.
On the 13th day I checked the eggs and all was fine. I did not check on the 14th day but on the evening of the 15th day I check on her eggs while she was off the nest.   She only had 8 eggs.  The eggs were not rolled out on the ground and were not in the nest.
Again today I checked the nest and she has 7 eggs.   I am thinking rather than get off the nest and eat , that she is eating an egg a day.  There are no shells in the nest so she is eating the entire egg.    What causes this and what can I do about it.

The eggs are being broken by accident; either because of interference from the other hens laying in her nest or because the hen is just clumsy. My guess is the 1st scenario which is more likely. If enough eggs get broken it is very possible the hen will become an egg eater, but I doubt she would settle for one egg a day. If possible, move the broody to a more secure location or block the nest off from the other hens so she has less disturbances. If you have more questions, ask.

Did you mark the original eggs so you could tell if fresh eggs were being laid in the nest?

 

[chicknmania]

She might be eating the ones that are not viable, they sometimes do that. Or, eating them out of boredom. I don't know how to stop a broody from eating her eggs, unless you want to take them away and putt them in an incubator.