"Dented"egg

[newchicksnducks]

I've gone from one egg layer to 5 in only 3 days! (two laying yesterday - 5 today). It feels great to see those lovely brown eggs in the nest boxes. I collected 4 at noon, heard the egg song half an hour later and went to coop. No one in the box, but believe the Dominique on the coop floor was the layer (she's been "squatting" for a week or so). When I took her egg into house, I noticed that although it was quite a bit larger than the other pullets who laid for the first time today, the small end of the egg had a dent/crack in it

Well, we won't be eating that egg, but would like to prevent it happening again. Currently I have shavings in the boxes, although they seemed to have pushed a lot of them out of the box along with the plastic eggs that were there. Should I
A. Keep replacing the shavings
B. Try replacing shavings with hay or straw?
C. Put foam type of mat on the bottom (Like the playmats for children)?

Any suggestions from the more experienced chicken keepers would be greatly appreciated!

 

[gritsar]

I have a thin layer of pine shavings underneath a heavy layer of hay in the nestboxes.
I've always preferred the hay and enjoy watching the hens arrange them into a nest that suits them. There's so much hay in fact that it never gets pushed out the way shavings can.
Never had a cracked egg yet *knock on wood*
Maybe yours aren't padded enough?

 

[NellaBean]

My chickens eat the hay. So I use shavings. But they make such a big dent that they move the shavings out of the way and then lay the egg right on the wood. I kept getting dented eggs too. So I put a piece of cardboard under the shavings. Cheap and easy. It has just enough give that the eggs don't crack. And it you cut it to the same size as the "box', it won't get moved or kicked out and won't get torn up like a fabric type cushion. And if it does? Cardboard is cheap! I haven't had a broken egg in the box since adding it .

 

[Whitehouse Quail]

I once saw a hen drop an egg onto a 2x4. I think she did it on purpose.