My EE won't stop Pecking her eggs!!

[AmberLeighW]

Welcome to BYC...sorry you are having troubles.

What and how exactly are you feeding?
Protein percentage on feed(read tag sewn into bottom of bag) and other foods 'treats'.

Ditto on grit and oyster shell not being mixed in to feed,
put them in a separate containers.

I have to double check the bag but I think its 18% and its the complete nutrition pellets for layers. I also feed them snacks once a day (various veggies, fruit, cooked eggs, salad greens, pasta, mealworms, etc)

 

[rebrascora]

It sounds like this is accidental damage due to it having poor shell quality and perhaps the bedding being scratched out. This is normal behaviour for new layers and will eventually settle down. It might be a good idea to place something soft in the bottom of the nest box that cannot be scratched out to soften the egg's landing... a piece of lino/cushion floor/carpet off cut, trimmed to fit snuggly.
Also, some green veggies (spinach/kale) can inhibit the absorption of calcium and pasta etc will not contain all the nutrients a chicken needs to lay good quality eggs, so cut back on the treats for now and just give them that "complete feed".... It is surprising how a small amount of treats when you first start with poultry, becomes increasingly larger over weeks and months without realising it and it is important to cut back on them occasionally and reassess their diet. Try fermenting some of their layer feed if you want to give them a treat. It is surprising how a pan of the same food, fermented or even just made into a wet mash can be more attractive.

All that said, some new layers just take a while for their body to perfect the egg making process and a very small number unfortunately have system malfunctions that never resolve. Hopefully your girl is in the first group, but cutting out those treats for now and going back to a basic ration may help that process.

PS. I agree with the others regarding oyster shell and grit.... do not mix into their feed but offer in separate bowls.

 

[jane s chickens]

I always put a lot (3 inches worth usually) of hay/pine shavings in their coop on the floor and in the nest boxes and they always always dig down to the wood floor before laying.

I put a cardboard 18 egg holder in the bottom of each box. I had the same problem as you & this stopped it. My EEs have always had thinner shells no matter what I do.

 

[song of joy]

I'd recommend using a nest pad in the nest box. I put these in the bottom of the nest boxes, then add pine shavings and hay. Even when they scratch down to the bottom and remove the pine shavings and hay, there's still the nest pad for the egg to land on as the nest pad stays in place. This has greatly reduced the number of broken eggs in my nest boxes.

These pads are very easy to clean. I just bang them against a tree to remove the pine shavings and hay, then hose them off with water.

https://www.qcsupply.com/420355-standard-nesting-pad.html

 

[chickenmeadow]

Maybe your hen could take a break from pecking eggs if they rolled away from her. We made the nests on bottom roll into "roll away nest boxes." I saw it on YouTube & my hubby put it together. The tray inside is a metal paint tray that slants toward the egg resting area in the front for me to lift a hinged plank to take out all of the safely rolled down eggs. Someone was really brilliant when they thought of this. Best wishes.

 

[AmberLeighW]

I'd recommend using a nest pad in the nest box. I put these in the bottom of the nest boxes, then add pine shavings and hay. Even when they scratch down to the bottom and remove the pine shavings and hay, there's still the nest pad for the egg to land on as the nest pad stays in place. This has greatly reduced the number of broken eggs in my nest boxes.

These pads are very easy to clean. I just bang them against a tree to remove the pine shavings and hay, then hose them off with water.

https://www.qcsupply.com/420355-standard-nesting-pad.html

Thank you, I will definitely buy some!

 

[CCUK]

Maybe your hen could take a break from pecking eggs if they rolled away from her. We made the nests on bottom roll into "roll away nest boxes." I saw it on YouTube & my hubby put it together. The tray inside is a metal paint tray that slants toward the egg resting area in the front for me to lift a hinged plank to take out all of the safely rolled down eggs. Someone was really brilliant when they thought of this. Best wishes.

I saw that. Really good idea and quick and easy to install.