why is my hen pecking a hole in her eggs? everyday?

[greenhead]

we have just one hen that pecks a hole in her egg everyday? she just started laying too. just one little hole on the top of the egg. can i prevent this?? help please.

 

[lilbreeches]

r u sure she is pecking the hole or is the shell weak? if she is doing it, i hope someone can give you pointers on how to stop it before she starts eating her eggs. that is very hard to break. still fighting with it with my hens. good luck.

 

[ranchhand]

I thought I had a hen like that- but it was because she would kick all the bedding out of the nest box, and lay the egg while standing. I finally put some sheet foam and scrap carpet in the box. No more broken eggs.

 

[Mr. Frizzles Hen House]

I've had three eggs just like that in the last week. Different colored eggs so I know they are not from the same hen. My girls are always kicking their nest material out of the boxes (pine shavings). So they are often laying on the card board I've lined the boxes with. Didn't dawn on me that they could be getting a puncture hole on the end from the drop. Does that have anything to do with thin shells? They seem strong when I crack them. I thought someone was puncturing them.

 

[ChooksChick]

I have hay in the boxes and the girls have made perfect nests out of it- it's been great for us.

Just thought I'd throw that in...

 

[PlumTuckered]

We used to put hay in the nests and our girls would kick the hay out and those that lay standing would often end up with an egg with a wee hole in it. We switched to pine shavings in the boxes and the girls seem to love it, no more eggs with holes in them.

Michelle