Why are they cracked? AND...can I replace their favorite nesting box?

[Chicky Joy]

I've had one cracked egg a day all week. They aren't broken open, just cracked to different degrees. I'm thinking that they are falling onto too hard a surface. My husband was supposed to change out some nesting boxes yesterday but didn't get to it. Hopefully that will fix the problem. My only other question is, could this be the work of a naughty hen? I'm hoping that's not the case. There are usually multiple eggs in the same box and it is only one that is cracked. I don't know where to place the blame.

 

[warren]

Are the shells of normal thickness? Oyster shell might help if that is the problem, otherwise, a bit more padding for the egg to land on would help. I understand that hens stand up during the last stage of egg-laying so the eggs fall a few inches to the ground.
I think if the hens were breaking them deliberately they would eat them.

 

[Chicky Joy]

They have oyster shell so I think the shell thickness is ok. We're going to change the boxes and all that good stuff today. Currently there is one wooden box that we're going to replace. The wooden box wasn't meant to be a laying box they just decided they'd use it as one.

 

[Hangin Wit My Peeps]

YUP Having the same prob here but I fixed my prob by adding cardboard to the bottom of the nest box. It should be a perfect fit or the hen tries to scratch it up. Mine was the small tip being broken every day!

I was getting tired of not getting my breakfast! She is my only laying hen. SO I got some nice thick cardboard the corrugated (sp?) kind and cut it to fit tight. It worked! no more broken eggs!

Forgot to add..yes I agree with the post above...if the hens were doing it on purpose they would be eating too. But I would fix it before they did get a taste of the egg

THEN they will start breaking it on purpose for that wonderful egg!

 

[Hangin Wit My Peeps]

Just for your info...I would watch if you remove that box the use. Hens like to lay in the same place all the time so if you take her nest box away she will prob start laying in crazy places! LOL

 

[Chicky Joy]

Quote:
That's what I'm afraid of. The box was in the building before we converted into a coop. It's a sturdy wooden box on legs. It was nailed to the wall so we didn't take it out. I never thought about them using it as a nesting box. I took it away from the wall but they still use it. The biggest problem is that 7 of my 8 hens roost around the edge of the box. Most of them sleep with their heads to the inside of the box but sometimes a few of them must sleep with their tails toward the inside because I'm constantly cleaning the poo out of the box. That's why I want to replace it. Should I leave it in and clean it out all the time or should I replace it? Is there a good way to go about replacing a favorite nesting box? I don't want to have eggs all over the ground.