i checked for eggs for the last time late this afternoon and found one egg which appears to have been pecked by one of The Girls! it doesn’t seem like she pecked all the way through the tough membrane, so it’s possible she didn’t get A Taste of The Good Stuff inside which we’ve heard can be Very Bad. once they get a taste of an egg they quickly learn that it’s much yummier than their regular food and will quickly eat all the profits, so to speak.

but why now? i don’t think we have any of the typical causes of egg eating – weak eggshells, improperly built nesting boxes, overcrowding, too much light in the nexting boses, insufficient nest litter etc. kris fessed up and said that a few weeks ago she inadvertantly dropped an egg and didn’t realize it until she saw some of The Girls Pecking away at it. perhaps that’s the cause? though it rather strange that it took them a few weeks to get around to investigating whether the eggs in the nesting box are as good as the one they found on the ground.

any eggperienced folks have suggestions for how to prevent further egg eating? everything i’ve read indicates that it’d difficult to break the habit and it’s best to cull the offenders sooner rather than later. thoughts?