Egg eating chicken

[Dk6boys]

Went to close up the coop last night and found a soft egg that had been eaten. All that was left was the tore up shell. I was out most the day with them, and checked for eggs shortly before I shut up the coop. It's my first soft shell. They are on fermented feed, plenty of oyster shell and kitchen scraps. I have 24 buff orpingtons. They about 24 weeks.
What do I need to do to keep this from becoming a bad habit!?!?

 

[BuffOrpington88]

This may be the only time they eat an egg, but if they pick up the habit, you can't really get rid of it. Some people advocate filling an egg with mustard and then putting it in the box, which supposedly they don't like the taste of. However, I have never tried this and am not how well that works. The only way to prevent the eggs from getting eaten is to collect them frequently so they don't get a chance.
Good luck!

 

[BunkyB]

Yep you are headed in the right direction. Soft eggs can be a target of curiosity for the other hens.Peck at it and wow they found another food source. If this starts up it can spread like wildfire to the rest of the flock. Try to find out which bird is laying the softies and separate her from the rest until the egg shells harden up. Sometimes there is a hiccough in the egg shell forming and you get the bouncy ball thing. Sometimes and in most cases it is calcium defficiency . Adding a trip or 2 to collect your eggs would be a good thing to do. Prevention is the best medicine..... Steve