Help! My 17 week old BO laid her 1st egg and they all were EATING it!!

[BigBlueHen53]

Good info here! My EEs and BLs are just coming up to 16 weeks old and I am expecting them to start laying any day now. I don't think I need any fake eggs, though, do I - I usually get 4 to 5 eggs from my older layers. That'll show them where to lay, right?

 

[aart]

I usually get 4 to 5 eggs from my older layers. That'll show them where to lay, right?

It will...but I like them to 'spread the love' between all 4 of my nests, fake eggs help that happen.

 

[CindyinSD]

I still keep fake eggs in all my nests. It probably isn’t necessary, but it doesn’t do any harm. Some people use old golf balls, Easter eggs weighted & glued together... anything egg-like. No need to buy the pricey purpose-built ones.

 

[ValerieJ]

With my buff Orpingtons I find the occasional broken egg and they do eat them. But, most of the time they don't. I think the egg has to be shell-less, which has happened only once or twice, or the shell has to be so thin as to break on impact. As my girls got older (oldest is 4 yr) the shells are sometimes thin and this happens. But I don't see them running around trying to break into the perfectly healthy eggs of my younger hens. I wouldn't worry about this at all. My RIR's lay smaller eggs and my BA's lay torpedo shaped eggs. I think those don't break as easily as the large eggs of the BO's. I always have oyster shell available to them. So, I don't worry about it. I get plenty of eggs every day.

 

[PirateGirl]

Don't worry too much yet! You are on the right track. If the egg was laid with a soft shell, or no shell, or a thin shell that cracked, it is totally normal for the chickens to eat the remains, and this won't make them egg eaters for life. Also an egg dropped by a new layer out on the ground is prone to breaking. This, fortunately, is a different scenario to chickens that break and eat perfectly normal in tact eggs to eat them (this is bad news and a habit I believe is hard to break). I suspect things will be just fine as they get the swing of things. You can always put some egg sized rocks in their nest boxes in the interim while you wait for your wood eggs in the mail.

 

[Mourgana]

I just consider all that confusion "practice". They even practice the egg song, and try out the nest boxes. I wouldn't spend time worrying about the soft shell egg they ate. The wooden eggs in the nest will help them figure it out.

They have yet to do anything to the nest boxes but sleep in them and poop in them haha!

I do hope they figure it out. No one wants poop covered eggs

I really hope they get it together ASAP!

 

[Mourgana]

Soft and thin shelled eggs are not unusual for newly laying birds,
and are fair game for eating....it won't make them into 'egg eaters'.

Put out a separate feeder with Oyster Shell...and sprinkle some on the ground.

Fake eggs are good to have in the nests, to show them where to lay and to foil the pretty common 'curiosity pecking'.... there's no need to spray anything 'nasty' on them.

Chaotic time when pullets come into lay, lots of squawking, funky eggs laid all over the place, messing up of nests, but all perfectly normal and no need to panic or come to drastic conclusions. It can take up to a month or so for things to smooth out.

Thank You! I am getting them some oyster shell today. Are you sure it won't hurt the ones who are still over a month behind the hen who is laying early?

 

[so lucky]

Put the oyster shell in a separate container and the chickens that need it will eat it. The others won't be interested, after the initial curiosity.

 

[Mourgana]

Don't worry too much yet! You are on the right track. If the egg was laid with a soft shell, or no shell, or a thin shell that cracked, it is totally normal for the chickens to eat the remains, and this won't make them egg eaters for life. Also an egg dropped by a new layer out on the ground is prone to breaking. This, fortunately, is a different scenario to chickens that break and eat perfectly normal in tact eggs to eat them (this is bad news and a habit I believe is hard to break). I suspect things will be just fine as they get the swing of things. You can always put some egg sized rocks in their nest boxes in the interim while you wait for your wood eggs in the mail.

Phew! This post is making me feel a bit more at ease. I will hunt around for some egg shaped rocks today!

I wonder how long it will take them to lay eggs with shells?

 

[aart]

They have yet to do anything to the nest boxes but sleep in them and poop in them

You need to 'train' them, best to do that before they start laying Bad habit should have be nipped the minute it starts happening. But, no time like the present to start.
Are roosts higher than nests?
Pics of coop inside showing nests and roosts would be most helpful here.