Need help answering a question if anyone can help. Our Buff Orpington has recently been spending a lot of time in the nest box, and I have had to shoo her off to gather her eggs. I thought that she was possibly going broody. However, the other day when I went to gather the eggs and she was in the nesting box, she immediately pecked at and ate the egg that was in it. She then proceeded to get back in the nest box. When I went out about an hour later, her egg was in the nesting box. Is it typical for a hen to only want to brood her own eggs? She doesn't seem to destroy her eggs, only the other hens. It has now been about 4 days and we are only getting her egg (out of 3 hens), so I am thinking that she is eating the other hens eggs but not hers. ??????
You could put a gold ball in the egg box, then she would peck and peck on it, and eventually lose interest in it. Or you could blow out an egg and fill it with mustard. When she pecks on it, it will break, and she will be tasting the mustard ( which chickens hate ) and never peck on an egg again.
