Eggs breaking?!?

[Cassey]

Hi! When I collect eggs the some of the eggs are broken.

Is it possible for the eggs to crack when they hit the nesting boxes?
Or do the chickens peck at them?

We had a problem pecking at them 2 months ago, but we fixed the problem by replacing the eggs with golf balls.

What should you do if they breaking when hitting the nesting box?
We have shavings in the nesting boxes.

Any help would be awesome!
Thanks!

 

[clawstar]

Are the shells really thin? If they are not being pecked open they are probably weak. Do your hens have Oyster Shell?

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

Eggs can definitely crack when being laid, you will see the crack in the wider end of the egg. Eggs can crack when hitting the bottom of the nestboxes, so make sure your bedding is thick and add more as often as necessary, as some hens are vigorous and scratch the bedding out. They can also crack when hitting other eggs so collecting often will help. If they are actually broken into, than I would suspect beaks or even toenails will cause holes in eggshells.