Cracked eggs?

[heather134]

In the past few days I've gotten two eggs that are cracked. In the past year of owning these hens I haven't ever seen a cracked egg unless it's was laid from the roost. The nesting box is lined on the bottom to prevent cracks, and none of the other eggs have had an issue. The lighter colored one was just laid and was from one of the younger hens (5 years old). Do hens just lay cracked eggs sometimes? It seems weird that I've gotten two so recently.

 

[MysteryChicken]

In the past few days I've gotten two eggs that are cracked. In the past year of owning these hens I haven't ever seen a cracked egg unless it's was laid from the roost. The nesting box is lined on the bottom to prevent cracks, and none of the other eggs have had an issue. The lighter colored one was just laid and was from one of the younger hens (5 years old). Do hens just lay cracked eggs sometimes? It seems weird that I've gotten two so recently.

Do you supply oyster shells separately in a dish?

What treats do you give, & how often?

 

[Yardmom]

Do you provide oyster shells on the sides? Some hens need more calcium than layer feed and egg shells.

 

[Ridgerunner]

No photos? It would be easier to come up with ideas if we could see the eggs. Knowing where you found them could help too.

When hens get old egg quality can deteriorate. Are both those eggs from different hens? One possible explanation is that one hen is laying thin-shelled eggs that are easy to crack. Hens walk on the eggs when they are entering and leaving the nest. were those shells thin.

Things happen. Is this just coincidence or a sign of an issue? I don't know.

 

[MountainWoman73]

I recently had one hen laying thin-shelled eggs consistently for 3-4 months. My girls all use one nest, so the thin eggs got stepped on and broken, which made a huge mess. My eggs and my hens' belly feathers were constantly messy from broken egg goo. It was happening every other day or so. None of the others were having trouble. All hens are on the same layer feed with oyster shell on the side. I did some nest-stalking and figured out which hen was having the trouble. That and the shell color helped me confirm that it was the same hen every time. Mavis is chicken soup now. I don't know what exactly was wrong with her, but I haven't had any more thin eggs.

 

[MissE]

Mine fight over the same nest box. Its It's not uncommon to find 8 or more eggs in the same nest. Sometimes one will crack when another one is laid on it. I have a couple girls that are pretty much standing when they lay. One even likes to balance on the lip of the box, which raises her up a couple more inches.