Many chickens develop this bad habit. It is when they will lay their egg and then realize they can break the egg shells (usually by accident the first time) and eat really yummy egg yolk inside! This will happen to chickens who are bored or who instinctively need the protein (sometimes its hard to tell which is the cause).
To treat this make sure:
-There are enough nesting boxes for the hens (I have 3 boxes for my 8 hens)
-The boxes are big enough (Mine are 14x14x14 inches)
-There are no bright lights in the coop
-That that they are given lots of extra protein supplements like worms, seeds, dairy, etc
-Collect the eggs right after they have laid
-To give the chickens enough treats to occupy them during the day (I've used chicken scratch, chick crumble and seeds to spread around the run so they can scratch around)
-If an egg is cracked or eaten, remove the rest of the egg from the box and throw away immediately
-If the chickens are given their egg shells for extra calcium, grind the shells thoroughly
-There is enough shavings in the box, so the eggs are being padded when laid
-You can also replace the eggs with an imitation wood egg, so when they peck it, it won't break, which will make them give up (I don't believe golf balls work. A chicken's sight is very fine-better than ours-so they are smart enough to tell the difference between a real egg and golf ball).
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