My first eggs! And hens eating one :( Questions and Help!

[jaimepowell]

I have 9 various types of laying girls right now. They are 19 weeks old this week and we finally got our first couple of eggs!!

They stay in a large pen and coop during the day and free range in the evenings. This morning when I checked the nesting boxes I found a few eggs and one mess of yolk that 2 of the hens were eating. I didn't see any shell so not sure if they ate the entire shell or if it was one of the eggs without a shell. Should I be worried that they will try to eat other eggs??

Any advice would be appreciated!

--I also noticed when reading through other threads that I should be giving them Oyster shells? I currently give them frozen fruits and veggies in the am (108 in Kansas this week), layer feed, grit, and fresh water every day.

Thanks!!!

 

[Birdlife99]

Hi,
This is a common problem. The only real way to fix this is by purchasing a 'rollaway' nest box. The chicken lays it's egg in the front compartment which is a normal nest box. At the rear of the box is some flaps. The eggs roll down and disappear down a chute where the hens can't access but you can. As for the oyster shells, I have never seen this before. We feed our chickens the shells of their own eggs, and they enjoy eating them too. I hope this helps

 

[sn2bavet]

If you can't afford to buy special laying boxes there is a few things you can do.
First NEVER feed the chickens egg shells because some will start eating the eggs.
Our chickens got the idea from a pesky Blue Jay that was flying into the coop and pecking and
eating the eggs. So, we put golf balls in the nests and blocked the opening that the bird was using.
When the chicken tried to peck it they didn't get anything and soon they stopped eating the eggs.