Hole in egg

[Clucky-Cathy]

Hi there, can anyone help??

We recently bought 2 black orpingtons. We've noticed that the last 3 eggs they have layed have a hole or crack in them, always in the same spot. We have fake eggs in the boxes, we've been feeding them oyster shell and we're really not sure what's going on.
The eggs are never completely broken through, just the shell. I have attached a picture for reference.

Has this happened to anyone else? Is there anyway we can stop this from happening? We really don't want an egg-eater on our hands!!

 

[getaclue]

When you hear the egg song, do a bit of checking. It looks like someone may be having trouble getting in, and out of the box without stepping on, or shifting the eggs so they break/crack.

 

[aart]

Could also be a lack of bedding in nest....and it hits something hard when dropped from vent. Kinda what it looks like to me.
I don't think it's egg eating, or they'd be eaten.
How long have you had these birds?
Did they integrate well with your existing birds?

 

[Clucky-Cathy]

Could also be a lack of bedding in nest....and it hits something hard when dropped from vent. Kinda what it looks like to me.
I don't think it's egg eating, or they'd be eaten.
How long have you had these birds?
Did they integrate well with your existing birds?

We got these about 3 weeks ago. We sold 2 of our barred rocks and bought 2 older/larger orpingtons. This was a good move because now these 2 orpingtons are top of the pecking order and the 2 remaining barred rocks are in the middle so they're a lot less mean to the other 2 orpingtons we have. The other 2 still get chased a little, but it's much, much better.

Yeah that's what we were thinking - if it's egg eating they would have pecked right through and eaten the egg. They always scratch most of the bedding out of the nest box when they go in there, so that could be what's happening.

 

[007Sean]

Maybe deeper nest boxes would help...what are you using for bedding in the boxes?

 

[aart]

Yeah that's what we were thinking - if it's egg eating they would have pecked right through and eaten the egg. They always scratch most of the bedding out of the nest box when they go in there, so that could be what's happening.

Are the front of your nests high enough?
Pics might help here.
They may still be anxious about the new place, maybe will calm the nest scratching.

 

[Clucky-Cathy]

Maybe deeper nest boxes would help...what are you using for bedding in the boxes?

We've got some shavings in there at the moment. I'll get a picture and post soon.

 

[007Sean]

We've got some shavings in there at the moment. I'll get a picture and post soon.

You might try straw or some timothy hay? Might provide a softer cushion.

 

[Clucky-Cathy]

You might try straw or some timothy hay? Might provide a softer cushion.

We were using straw, but they kept scratching all of it out before they went in there to lay so we switched it to shavings to see if that made a difference. No eggs yesterday, but I'll see what happens today!

 

[Clucky-Cathy]

Are the front of your nests high enough?
Pics might help here.
They may still be anxious about the new place, maybe will calm the nest scratching.

I'll get a picture and post soon. It could be the height of the nest she is using? It's lower to the ground than our other one. Do you think that could be the cause of the cracked eggs?