Not laying, eating eggs, nesting box wars!

[mamamary]

I am fairly new to this egg thing:
1. I have 3 white leghorns, I get 1 egg most days. The math doesn't add up to me! How can you tell if a hen is laying or not. I have 12 hens and 3 roosters. Will I have to seperate them?
2. I have 6 nesting boxes. All 12 hens want the same one ! Sometimes there are 3 hens in there!
3. Do eggs crack on the way out? Some have cracks in the small end (I am assuming that that is the first end out).
4. If they don't crack on the way out, would one of the chickens consistantly peck at the small end of the egg.

I hope someone can help me figure out this stuff!!!!

Mary

 

[TurkeyMountainChickens]

Hi Mary!

For Leghorns, you should be getting more than 1 egg from 3 hens. How old are they? Do they free range? If so, they might be laying somewhere beside the nest box.

And speaking of nest boxes, the one with eggs in it is ALWAYS best. If you'd like the girls to try out some other boxes, try putting wooden eggs or even golf balls in them. It will make them see more attractive.

Eggs may sometimes be cracked during the laying process, but it isn't very common.