How to stop an egg pecker.

[lil_nyixx]

Hello people of BYC!

So I have this blue wyandotte named Raspberry. She’s about 6 months old, and I’ve been waiting for her to lay her first (or second because I have a black australorp who also provides brown eggs) egg and she finally did today but noticed that there were scratch marks all over her egg. When I took the egg and showed it to Raspberry, she started pecking at it, not hard enough to damage or even crack the egg but Im worried if she starts early enough she’ll start breaking eggs and I can’t have that!

Any ideas I can try?

 

[WhySayWhat]

Ceramic eggs worked wonders on my egg eaters! Plastic eggs work "okay" (I bought a couple at my farm supply store that were white) after I added some river rock out of my yard to make them a little heavier. If you have any "sort of egg shaped" rocks, those can work as well. They get the idea that eggs aren't fun to peck and generally leave them alone.

 

[lil_nyixx]

Ceramic eggs worked wonders on my egg eaters! Plastic eggs work "okay" (I bought a couple at my farm supply store that were white) after I added some river rock out of my yard to make them a little heavier. If you have any "sort of egg shaped" rocks, those can work as well. They get the idea that eggs aren't fun to peck and generally leave them alone.

Thank you! I actually have this marble shaped egg that would work me wonders! Thank you for this tip!

 

[aart]

When I took the egg and showed it to Raspberry, she started pecking at it, not hard enough to damage or even crack the egg

Likely just a curiosity peck, not uncommon with new layers....
.... and don't offer the egg to be pecked.
Don't panic about egg eating until it happens in the nest.
Fake eggs can help deter it....gather frequently as new layers come online.

 

[BDutch]

Likely just a curiosity peck.

This was my first thought too. Chickens associate something in you’re hand and showing it to them with food.
Just take out the eggs. Put a fake stone or plastic egg in the nest to be quit sure they will lay the next egg there too.