Broken eggs

[Deleted]

So I have a wood floor in my coop. It's covered with shredded wood and hay, including in the nest boxes, which are also wood.

When the chickens are getting ready to lay, they scrape all the bedding away till they have a bare circle, then they stand up and drop their egg on the bare wood. Most of them survive, but I'm getting about 1 out of every 4 or 5 that are broken.

Will they eventually stay lying down when they lay? Or do all chickens stand up to drop their eggs? This is starting to get frustrating, and I've been giving all the broken eggs to the dogs. I'm still trying to finish off the last of the eggs I got from the neighbor so I haven't started in on my own yet. When I do, I suppose I could just eat those first. The membranes are intact, there's just a crack in the shell, so I'm sure they'd be OK.

What do you guys think? Any ideas of how I can keep the eggs from breaking? I've even thought of cutting up an old blanket and lining the nest boxes, but I'm afraid they'll just bunch it up or toss it out. Then there are the ones who don't even use the nest boxes, they just clear a spot on the floor and drop it there.

~Lannie

[Kathy]

I had a couple that actually put their butts out of the nest box and let er rip! Those 2 never did learn that the nest is for egg laying. They were delicious.

I would get an occasional egg that was cracked but most seemed to squat more after they got into a good egg laying pattern.

If they're laying in the nests you could try putting some mats down so there's a softer, bouncy type surface. Maybe a square of indoor/outdoor carpet or cow matting cut to size.
If they're laying on the floor; that does present more problems and I haven't got a clue what would work. Sorry, I hope they're just young and dumb yet and figure it out soon.

[bergere]

Well, at least they are not dropping an eggs while sitting on the roost. ::)Had one that did that for the first few months of laying.

You could try putting down a piece of smooth rubber or scuba suit material down first and then the shavings and straw. Less likely to have breaks that way.

For the cracked egg...feed it to the dogs or throw them out. Bacteria can get in there quick and make you really sick if you eat them.
Is better to be safe!