Pecking eggs but not eating them.

[Meg22]

I have 4 light Sussex pullets, all of them are laying now. One of them is pecking at eggs. We have had 3 that have been cracked but the membrane was still intact so I know they aren't eating them. I want to stop this before they discover that there is something yummy inside. Any suggestions?

 

[aart]

Are you sure they are pecked and not cracked from falling out of bird onto a hard surface/corner? Got pics?

Not too unusual for new layers to peck and egg out of curiosity.
Best thing is to gather eggs frequently and have fake eggs in the nests.

 

[Meg22]

I've seen one of them pecking the fake eggs.

 

[The Birb King]

I've seen one of them pecking the fake eggs.

Collect the real eggs often and leave the fake ones for a while. They will peck the fake ones, and realize that they dont break so they should eventually stop pecking eggs.

 

[Meg22]

One of them had a small hole in the air sack. Chicken sitter got the 3rd cracked one.

 

[The Birb King]

One of them had a small hole in the air sack. Chicken sitter got the 3rd cracked one.

That one looks like it fell and cracked. If a chicken pecked it the crack would probably be bigger and they would have eaten most of it.

 

[aart]

That one looks like it fell and cracked.

Agrees.

What kind of bedding in the nests?
I assume this egg was laid in a nest.
Any exposed sharp edges inside the nest?

 

[Meg22]

That one looks like it fell and cracked. If a chicken pecked it the crack would probably be bigger and they would have eaten most of it.

I suppose that's possible. No matter how much bedding I put in they always scrape it down to the wood when they get in. The other one was a small hi ole with scrape marks around it.

 

[Meg22]

Wood chips in the box. Most of them have been scrapped out. I'll refill it tomorrow but they won't stay in long. The lip at the front is 4 inches high. I originally had one box with straw and one with wood chip but they didn't seem interested in the straw.

 

[aart]

Wood chips in the box. Most of them have been scrapped out. I'll refill it tomorrow but they won't stay in long. The lip at the front is 4 inches high. I originally had one box with straw and one with wood chip but they didn't seem interested in the straw.

I would increase the front lip so it's 4-6" above the bedding.
Not unusual for new layers to really tear up the nests at first.
Just collect frequently.

I like to stuff a full flake of straw tightly into the nest, then bowl it out a bit.
They can still bare the center but the edges stay covered.