Egg eating.....just to vent

[ilovemybabies2]

So, I get home from church, it's almost 100 degrees out here. Our black sex link has been laying in the nesting box, no egg today, that's fine, it happens. We are expecting a few other chickens to be laying soon due to the squat; RIR, Comet, Barred Rock.. The BR has practiced in the nesting box, but no egg, and that's ok we'll just keep waiting. But anyway, we get home and see in the MIDDLE of the yard egg whites, to the left of that, a very little egg yolk, to the left of that, egg shell (looks like a water balloon shell, we had that with the black sex link, soft shelled). I am nervous, is this chicken going to be a habitual egg eater? Does it sound like the egg was eaten? Are they going to continue laying in the middle of the yard? What are your thoughts?

 

[aart]

Put some fake eggs or golf balls in the nests, be patient, they'll figure it out. The heat probably isn't helping.

It takes new layers awhile to get the egg making machinery tuned up, you'll get some funky and/or small eggs for the first couple days or weeks.

In my mind a soft-shelled or broken egg is fair game for them to eat and doesn't usually lead to egg eating.
It's when they peck open and eat intact eggs that you have a problem.

 

[Amina]

I wouldn't be concerned about them eating a soft-shelled egg... it doesn't mean they will eat a normal egg. Also, I bet the reason it was in the middle of your yard is specifically because it was a soft-shelled one. When one of my girls started to lay, she would occasionally lay a soft-shelled egg, and while laying it she didn't seem to realize that's what it was. One time, I saw her just walk along, act like she was about to poop, and then lay a soft-shelled one and keep walking. So your girl may not have realized it was an egg at first either.