Chicken laying eggs in run, afraid they'll start eating them

[theflores6]

I have 3 RIR (just got them about 5 weeks ago). Should add I am very new to chicken ownership. We live in town, unable to let them out of their coop/run. One of the 3 is about 6 months older than the others. I think she is the one that has been laying in the coop. During the last week there have been 2 eggs in the run. The first one looked like a new-layers egg. It was very deformed and not quite complete on one end. The one that I found today was smaller but had been cracked, don't know how or if they were eating it.

My fear is that they will develop a taste for eggs. What should I do? Is there a way to get them to lay in the coop?

 

[chickentooth]

they will always eat broken eggs it is normal and good for them. I have never had one eat or peck at one that was whole. Is there more than one nesting box. My chicks all lay in the same box but they have four boxes sometimes i will get another in a different box probably because of the other one being occupied. If one is trying to lay an egg and another kicks em out they will continue to lay that egg. Also sometimes it just takes a few times to learn. If the eggs on the ground are not fully developed then that can also be why they are on the ground. Whenever i have had a soft egg it was on the ground or on the floor.

 

[donrae]

I'd be sure to have a couple nest boxes. I just use rubbermaid totes with some hay or shavings in the bottom and place them around the coop. For new layers, you can try seeding the box with golf balls, plastic eggs, etc to help them get the idea. New layers just don't always know where they're supposed to lay. And if one is having glitches, I don't think they always know it's coming out! I agree, most of my soft shelled eggs are not in nest boxes.