Hens eating soft-shelled egg?

[Lizz9311]

I discovered my hens (more specifically one of my Brahmas) eating what appeared to be a soft-shelled egg this morning. I can't tell if they purposely broke it or if it was an accident, but since everyone was in the coop all night, I am leaning towards accident. If they purposely broke it, is it possible they did so because it was a soft-shell and not because they're egg-eaters?

 

[BuffOrpington88]

If they pecked it open, it might just have been because they didn't know what it was.

 

[Fred's Hens]

It's fairly normal. If an egg gets broken, because it has a thin or cracked shell, the hens gobble it up. It's likely nature's way of them "cleaning up" the mess.

 

[Ridgerunner]

Most hens will eat an egg if it is accidentally broken. They can learn to become egg eaters and open one themselves, but most don't.

I've had one egg eater in my life, one that would open up a good egg and eat it. Several other hens would join her in eating it, but I figured out which one was opening them and and eliminated her. The others had not learned how to open an egg. They were just opportunistic feeders.

I would not worry about it if it is a soft-shelled or thin-shelled egg that was almost certainly accidentally broken. Only if it becomes a regular event with good shelled eggs would I start to worry.

 

[Lizz9311]

Thanks everyone! You all pretty much echoed what I was thinking, but the confirmation eases my mind!