Is My Hen Eating Eggs?

[Olive_Egger]

My light brahma hen has always been kind of strange- she sometimes lays her eggs in random places. We think she might do this because another hen has taken her nesting box. Well, today we found her egg right outside the coop. She had egg yolk and egg shell on her face and beak. We found the nesting box she normally lays in had egg yolk/whites on the side. Key detail: all of the actual egg shell seemed to be gone. She had already laid her egg in the yard but was wandering around in the hen house. She is a heavy bird, could she have broken the other hen’s egg accidentally and then pecked at it? We’re trying to come up with any other explanation because we really don’t want an egg eating hen!

 

[Olive_Egger]

 

[GermanKennhuhn]

I’d say she’s been eating them.

 

[EggSighted4Life]

could she have broken the other hen’s egg accidentally and then pecked at it?

Happy accidents are most often the case.. the key is preventing it from becoming habit.

Adding ceramic or wooden eggs (even golf balls) to nests is one great way to deter curiosity peck.

Also hanging curtains to darken the nest and hopefully block the direct line of sight into it can be helpful if needed.

Roll away nest inserts could be extremely useful both in preventing break and habitual egg eaters.

 

[Ridgerunner]

It is not unusual for a chicken to eat an egg that is already broken. That does not make it an egg eater. An egg eater is one that purposely breaks an egg to eat it. Those you do not want.

If an egg is accidentally broken, say it is laid from the roost and breaks when it hits the coop floor, a thin-shelled egg is stepped on in the nest and breaks, or a chicken sees a shell-less egg and eats it, that is perfectly acceptable to me. It sounds like something like that might have happened to you. I would not worry yet, especially with no shell fragments there.

 

[Charitylb1576]

I wouldn't worry since I don't see any shell fragments. It was maybe a soft egg and she was curious. We actually dry out our shells. Take out the membrane and mix it in with their food for calcium and never had any egg eaters unless it was already broken or they stepped on it( which happens more than u would like). I would just clean it up . Chickens don't normally like anything on their beaks..