Chicken slitting on eggs and eating them

[I like chicken]

Hello,
This is my first time raising chickens...
A few days ago, the hen laid 11 eggs. After 7 days, I found only 6 eggs and the egg shells. I think the hen is eating her eggs while she is incubating. What is the solution? Thank!

 

[sourland]

Do other hens have access to the nest site? If so they may be inadvertently breaking the eggs.

 

[I like chicken]

Do other hens have access to the nest site? If so they may be inadvertently breaking the eggs.

No, I'm 100% sure of that.

 

[Ridgerunner]

Do you know when those eggs were eaten? Was it one at a time or all at once? Day or night? What do the broken eggshells look like? In tiny pieces or more in halves? Are all the inside egg parts gone or is it a wet mess? Are the eggshells in the nest or in the area? Can you put a game camera out there to see if you can film something?

After 7 days 5 eggs are gone with eggshells left behind. Frankly that sounds weird. Whatever is going on I would have expected it to be all or none by now.

If it is your hen eating them there is nothing you can do about it other than putting the remaining eggs in an incubator and hatching them yourself.

It could be some other critter. Since the eggshells are left it is not a snake. I've had a snake eat eggs out from under a broody before. Kind of creepy but no eggshells were left behind. A possum or skunk could eat some eggs and leave some I guess, but I'd expect them to eat them all unless they were scared away. And I'd expect the shells to be outside of the nest. It could be a rat. I don't know where in the world you are located, you may have other local egg eating predators.

This is a strange one to me. Good luck figuring it out.

 

[I like chicken]

Do you know when those eggs were eaten? Was it one at a time or all at once? Day or night? What do the broken eggshells look like? In tiny pieces or more in halves? Are all the inside egg parts gone or is it a wet mess? Are the eggshells in the nest or in the area? Can you put a game camera out there to see if you can film something?

After 7 days 5 eggs are gone with eggshells left behind. Frankly that sounds weird. Whatever is going on I would have expected it to be all or none by now.

If it is your hen eating them there is nothing you can do about it other than putting the remaining eggs in an incubator and hatching them yourself.

It could be some other critter. Since the eggshells are left it is not a snake. I've had a snake eat eggs out from under a broody before. Kind of creepy but no eggshells were left behind. A possum or skunk could eat some eggs and leave some I guess, but I'd expect them to eat them all unless they were scared away. And I'd expect the shells to be outside of the nest. It could be a rat. I don't know where in the world you are located, you may have other local egg eating predators.

This is a strange one to me. Good luck figuring it out.

I found a broken egg almost every day after the first two days and didn't pay much attention to it. Today, I was more bothered when I found remnants of the egg, and an hour ago I found the yolk stuck to the chicken. So, I concluded that she is eating her eggs.

 

[Anon112]

I have a hen who has eaten two of her eggs. My issue is that she will not leave the nest to eat. I read in another article that hens will sometimes not know they can leave the eggs, but then they get so hungry that they eat an egg. I'm off to another thread for help solving the "won't leave nest" problem! Is your hen leaving the nest to eat/drink/poop?

 

[McChooky]

Hello,
This is my first time raising chickens...
A few days ago, the hen laid 11 eggs. After 7 days, I found only 6 eggs and the egg shells. I think the hen is eating her eggs while she is incubating. What is the solution? Thank!

It can take 21 days for a hen to lay 11 eggs if they don't lay one every day. (same amount of time it takes to hatch chicks) Did you mark on a calendar when she went broody?

 

[I like chicken]

I have a hen who has eaten two of her eggs. My issue is that she will not leave the nest to eat. I read in another article that hens will sometimes not know they can leave the eggs, but then they get so hungry that they eat an egg. I'm off to another thread for help solving the "won't leave nest" problem! Is your hen leaving the nest to eat/drink/poop?

Maybe that's the reason, I didn't See the hen leaving the nest.

 

[I like chicken]

It can take 21 days for a hen to lay 11 eggs if they don't lay one every day. (same amount of time it takes to hatch chicks) Did you mark on a calendar when she went broody?

I didn't mark anything, by the way this is my first time raising chickens

 

[DerSchoeneBahnhof]

Ugh, I am also having lots of broken eggs lately . This started getting bad after my Salmon Faverolle passed away (she used to be broody and sit on the eggs, protecting them).

The nesting area is a bit cramped but last year they managed alright with the rare occasional broken egg.

I am considering expanding the nesting area with proper nesting boxes (and maybe rollaway ones). Maybe a nesting area not cramped right next to the 2x4 for sleeping will help...