I don't know which one laid it though. When will they figure out what the nest boxes are for??? How can I keep them from eating the eggs before I get to them to collect them?
Egg eaters are a real pain. And hard to break them of it once they start too. They may even break and eat them in the nest too. They like a feeling of "privacy", and it helps if the nest is dark (can cover front with a piece of burlap) and put it in the corner out of the way. If they just started laying, they may take a few days to figure it out. Once one starts laying there, they usually all follow suit (and want to lay in the same nest, ha.)
You can put a dummy egg in there to help them figure out where to lay and also to discourage them from trying to eat them...the ceramic ones are a good choice. Or if it continues, you may need to buy or build a roll-out nest, where the egg disappears to a compartment in the back, before they have a chance to eat it. But that will only work if they are laying in the nest in the first place. Pullets are a little slow sometimes to figure things out. It takes them awhile to realize they are about to lay an egg until they get used to it, so that's why they sometimes lay in the yard. Good luck!
I hope this isn't going to be a flock that eats every egg.
it might also depend on how hard the eggshells are. if your girl left a soft shelled egg and the others are anticipating the egg, once they see one of these they go nuts! i find during hot weather that a couple of my girls may lay an egg or two like this. i've also been finding the tiny 'wind' eggs but not seeing the very large egg that can accompany them. make sure you have plenty of oyster shell out for the girls to help make their eggshells strong enough. anything that can give them extra calcium in their diet will also help.
The shell was very thin so it is also possible that it broke on the way out or when it hit the ground.
Thanks Chickie. Dew is on her way to town right now to get oyster shell and to look for something to use a a fake egg. Personally, I am tempted to make a few out of concrete and paint them tan.Chickie'sMomaInNH said:if you can't find the ceramic eggs locally but you have golf balls you can use those too. or you could find round and oval stones about the size of an egg to place in the boxes. if you have an egg eater these will teach them that not all eggs are edible so quit trying to break them!
i had her in a breeding pen with Mosey, one of my faverolles roos, and i noticed the pattern of always laying her eggs when i walked into the coop and shortly after walking by their pen. i also noticed Mosey anticipating her eggs and would follow her around waiting to see if the egg would drop and break. he became an egg eater because this would happen in the pen. he's stopped this since they integrated into the main flock. he'd rather chase tail than watch for dropped eggs.
I did get some oyster shell for them to eat, took some out to the coop and most of them went right for it.
