Young Layers Pecking Eggs

[Fluffy_Feathers]

I have 6 hens, all are about 20 weeks old. As of today, 5 are laying. 3 of them all started laying just this week so I suspect the last one will be laying soon. But I have been finding eggs that have a hole in them. The hole is just in the shell, i don't think it punctures the membrane. I've been noticing this since the 3 started laying. I want to make sure this is just young chickens being curious and pecking them and not some kind of other animal getting in there. I also want to know if they will grow out of it.

 

[Fluffy_Feathers]

I think I posted this in the wrong forum section. Sorry about that!

 

[aart]

I think I posted this in the wrong forum section. Sorry about that!

That's all right, I'll ask them to move it.


That hole look to be in the fat end of egg?
Is it possible that it broke when it fell from the pullet?
They actually stand up when the egg comes out,
so if you don't have enough bedding in the nest,
and it hits a hard surface it can crack.

It also look like the shell is very thin there?
Not unusual with new layers to have some funky eggs in the first month or so.

New layers can do some curiosity pecking too.
And a thin or softshell egg is fair game for eating,
but they usually find the harder shells to be in accessible and quickly give it up.
Best to gather eggs frequently.

 

[Ridgerunner]

An egg eater is a chicken that purposely opens an egg to eat it. At least you don't have one of those. Most chickens will eat an egg that is opened, that's normal. So if you find an egg that has been eaten, don't panic. It could just be one that was accidentally opened.

How thick are those egg shells? How many are you finding? Is the dent always in the rounded end? What Aart did not tell you is that the wide end comes out first. If you have nail heads or something like that sticking up in your nests the egg could be hitting that. The first thing I'd do is take any bedding out of the nest and make sure there is nothing there that could dent the egg. What are you using for bedding? Doe sit have sharp points in it?

Often when pullets first start to lay the eggs are not perfect. The internal egg making factory is pretty complicated, the surprising thing to me is that so many get it right from the start. One thing that can happen is that the eggs are pretty thin shelled. That makes them easy to dent. Chickens walk on the eggs when they are getting on and off the nest. Usually the shells are thick enough to support that weight. But that type of damage can come from their claws, especially if they are thin-shelled.

Aart covered pecking.