Hens eating eggs

[ricachica]

This has probably been answered but I don't know where to find it. Can you help? My 5 hens (2 years old) each have their own nesting boxes and plenty of food and water down below on the floor. The egg production has gone drastically down to one egg every day or so since this fall. I am working on using just lay pellets instead of scratch and increasing the light time, but the few eggs are just being eating by the hens. I'm not sure if it's all of them or just one. I'm so discouraged I just want to get rid of them all and start over. Any suggestions? Also, do I HAVE to have straw or shavings in the boxes? They just push it all out onto the floor and I feel it's just a waste.

 

[HoosierChickenMan]

Mine are doing the same except for the egg eating, I was getting 6 to 8 eggs a day, now I am down to 1 egg, which is my youngest RIR hen laying it. My 2 New hampshire reds have quit along with my 2 Black Australorps, I have the white leghorns but they have not started yet, though I have 1 older white leghorn was laying but she quit too, so I went with more light and more layer crumbles....will revisit and post the results.

 

[swimmer]

I've got one I'm also trying to stop from eating her eggs. It's very hard to do. She is new to laying and I'm thinking her shells are still pretty thin. The others are laying and have no problems with egg eating.
A few things that have been suggested to me are, blowing out an egg and filling with mustard and placing in nest box, putting golf balls in nest box, make sure they have plenty of protien. Doesn't seem anything has worked for me. My girls were "cooped" up for about two weeks due to lots of snow in the yard. Not sure if that is why she started to eat her eggs. Going to wait it out a few more days and might have to cull her.