Do you ever get broken eggs in the nest box?

[LauraG]

The ladies have been laying nice clean eggs for a little while.

Today I found a smashed one in the nest box. Does this happen from time to time? It doesnt appear to have been eaten, the yolk and whites were all there. I changed out the straw just incase.

Just wondering if this is a normal or somewhat normal occurance with others?

Thanks

 

[tagra123]

Doesn't happen often. With ours, sometimes they trample around trying to lay eggs on top of each other and this can happen.

Maybe try placing a little extra straw or bedding around to cushion the egg.

 

[easttxchick]

I've had it happen a few times, too.
It doesn't seem to be an egg eating thing, so I don't worry too much about it.
Of course, I see how it happens when two or three of them try to squish their big butts in one box at the same time.

 

[Jane Jill Jack]

Need stronger shells. Get oyster shells, crushed.

 

[DanEP]

I got one today, i have 2-3 inches of shavings in each box but for some reason one of the girls decided to push it all to one end of the box and drop the egg on the wooden bottom of the box . silly chicken!

 

[spartacus_63]

I had one today too. It had a very thin shell. Oyster shells are out. I'm thinking and hoping that it was one of my pullets.

 

[LauraG]

Thanks for the replies. Good to know it happens.

I'm also hoping it was one of my novices and was just an accident.

All the posts on egg-eating makes me a little paranoid.

Oh, I do have oyster calcium out........

 

[Orchid]

I haven't had a broken one yet, but I did have one with some serious claw marks in it.

I guess the oyster shell is doing its job, I couldn't believe that egg wasn't broken.

I do have a very deep layer of pine shavings in the nest box.

 

[Denninmi]

Good advice above. Soft, thick bedding to cushion the force AND adequate calcium in the diet should cure the problem, unless it is somehow egg eating behavior (unlikely, they don't leave anything behind in my experience, eggs are good to the last drop if they eat them, shell and all).

 

[alaskachick]

My hens tend to all want to lay in the same box so by the middle of the day there is about 8 eggs in the nest. I sometimes find little tiny dings in the eggs because I think the hens fly up into the nest and their claws land hard in the pile of eggs. I have never found a broken egg, but I did find some eggs that were laid with no shell and the raw egg was dripping off the other whole eggs. I was amazed that the hens never scarfed up the shell-less egg.