eggs have holes in them but the membrane isn't broken

[friedchickenman]

my hens have just started to lay and i have had about 5 eggs that have holes in them but the membrane isn't broken. they are maybe pecking the eggs but are not eating them or maybe stepping on them?.please any info on how to stop this from happening. thank you.

 

[BawkinOnTheBench]

Are the shells thin and weak? If they are, provide oyster shell for calcium (separately, not mixed with the food and make sure your hens are on good qaulity layer feed. I also provide my chickens with Avia 2000 (it's a poultry vitamin supplement, you can get it online at Murray McMurray) in one waterer and apple cider vinegar in the other. It's helped most cases of weak shells in my flock, though I did have one chicken that always had this problem and I had to get rid of her.

 

[Joe Jordan]

That isn't likely because of weak shells. From the pictures it looks like your egg shells are thick enough. The birds are getting curious about what the eggs are. First, get the eggs out of there as quickly as you can before they can peck at them. Second, get some hard fake eggs (golf balls work if nothing else). This way when they peck at them, they don't break them and it is unpleasant to try. If your birds learn that there is a tasty treat inside those eggs it will be so much harder to break them of it. Immediacy is a huge factor right now.

 

[WalkingOnSunshine]

Those eggs were pecked by a curious hen. Joe Jordan is totally right--you want to stop the behavior before they find out that there's yumminess inside. If they figure out that eggs are full of yum, you'll have an egg eater on your hands and that's super hard behavior to stop.

Get the eggs out of the coop as soon as possible after they're laid.

Just in case you were unsure, you can totally eat those eggs since the membrane is unbroken.

 

[friedchickenman]

thank you all for replying. i checked at 11 and i already had 3 eggs and only one had been pecked. thanks for the help.

 

[Katherine Austin]

my hens have just started to lay and i have had about 5 eggs that have holes in them but the membrane isn't broken. they are maybe pecking the eggs but are not eating them or maybe stepping on them?.please any info on how to stop this from happening. thank you.

I have the same problem