HELP...I think this might not be my first egg...

[mowin]

It's the first I've found.

It's been hot here, so for the past couple weeks, all doors and windows have been closed up and AC has been on. I'd check the coop fist thing, and when I get home from work. Nothing.

However this morning I had the windows and doors open, and heard the egg song.. I quickly ran out to the coop, and seen one of my RIR's squatting in the middle of the run. The other gals were all around her. As I opened the door, she got up and there's a small egg.
But the other hens immediately began pecking at it. I managed to get it before they broke it. So I'm thinking this might not be her first if the others are eating them.

I've had fake eggs in the nest boxes for a week or so.
Will she eventually lay in the boxes? How do I keep the other from eating the eggs, if they are?

 

[Mvan42]

How high are your nesting boxes? How old are your hens? If she is young and just learning eventually she will lay in the nesting box.

As for them eating them, it’s sometimes hard to stop them once they start. Check eggs as often as possible. Nice they start laying in the nesting boxes they may peck at the fake eggs which sometimes will stop them from eating eggs ( no reward). Good luck

 

[mowin]

Nest boxes are 12" off the floor with a board in front for them to walk on. I haven't seen any indication of them checking them out at all except when I opened them up and they pecked at the straw. The RIR's are 21 weeks, the BO's, BR's and EE are 19.

 

[Birdsong 82]

Of the others were eating it for too long you probably would’ve noticed another clue. She will learn the nesting box but her first few may be a surprise to her too. Hopefully once she does with the fake eggs the egg eating won’t become a problem.

 

[mowin]

Of the others were eating it for too long you probably would’ve noticed another clue. She will learn the nesting box but her first few may be a surprise to her too. Hopefully once she does with the fake eggs the egg eating won’t become a problem.

What other clue??

I just did a quick experiment. I took a fake egg out of the nest box, and with them distracted with some scratch, I layed it on the run floor. Once they seen it, they absolutely attacked it. For 15 minutes they were like WTH is wrong with this eqq, it won't break.

Uggh. This sucks. If they continue, I'll have a lot of BBQ chicken. But I doubt I'll start over. The coop will become a shed.

 

[Birdsong 82]

Can you convert your nest boxes into roll away nest boxes? That helped with my egg eater.

 

[Ninjasquirrel]

Are you providing a calcium source? I find my girls will eat the eggs if they are having trouble producing an egg. I had one that hadn't layed in a week. I was convinced she was eggbound. I gave her a scrambled egg and she layed the next day

 

[mowin]

Can you convert your nest boxes into roll away nest boxes? That helped with my egg eater.

Well, if she lays in the box that might work, but she laied in the middle of the run.

 

[mowin]

Are you providing a calcium source? I find my girls will eat the eggs if they are having trouble producing an egg. I had one that hadn't layed in a week. I was convinced she was eggbound. I gave her a scrambled egg and she layed the next day

There on layer, and I do have a container of OS as well.

 

[mowin]

So I heard another egg song but it was pouring outside. By the time I grabbed a raincoat and got out there she had stopped and I couldn't find any egg or pieces of one. They were all outside in the rain.