why was it cracked ? /:

[chickenmaniac]

So today i got my first egg and i have 16 chickens (2 are roos and 14 are hens) anyways most of them are to young to lay eggs because 12 of them are 2 1/2 months or younger so it had to be from one of my four 5 month old hens and 2 of them are rhode island reds and thwe other two are buff orphingtons. im sure it came from a buff orphington because the rhode islands do not look ready to lay. Anyways i wanna know why it was broken?

 

[nurse_turtle]

Any number of reasons. It looks like it got stepped on. Chickens are really nosy.

 

[chickenmaniac]

by a chicken right? but when i noticed it it look like one of my rhode island reds was picking at it

 

[nurse_turtle]

The RIR probably wasn't picking at it until after it was broken. Chickens LOVE eggs and egg shells. They won't usually eat their own raw eggs, it goes against their instincts, but when one is broken, they will instinctually make it disappear so as to not attract predators. There's a learning curve involved when newbies start laying.

 

[chickenmaniac]

do you guys know when it will lay another one?

 

[BlazeJester]

Nope. It sometimes takes them a while to get started, but others get right on it and start laying pretty much daily once they start.

 

[mother o' chicks72]

It may be a few days or a few weeks 'til she lays another one. They lay pretty inconsistently until they turn about a year old and then they lay almost every day depending on breed. My orpington is a year old now and lays every day an RIR are supposed to be good layers.

 

[hdowden]

i've got hens who will peck at layed eggs and crack them just to eat them but until you see a layed egg that hasnt been broken and is getting pecked at they most likly just stepped on it,, that happens here to they step on the eggs, peck at them, eat them, ect

 

[chickenmaniac]

dang so i gotta wait a while then

i thought once they stated laying they would lay everyday after. thank you guys for the info and @hdowden why do they eat ur eggs?

 

[Featherland]

It looks like the shell was weak. You need to feed the older ones oyster shell.

Once they start eating eggs it is hard to get them to stop.