[loretta cluck]

One of my 6 girls laid a normal egg in the garden yesterday, (would normally be in the nestboxes), and as i dashed outside to grab the egg, having seen that all 6 were stood over it and discussing what to do, i made them jump, and Loretta, who i thought had laid this egg, screeched and jumped, and a soft egg popped out.....it was dived upon immediately and gobbled up in a matter of a blink...gone!! I'll get to the question eventually..sorry! Dont think they distinguished the shelled egg and the softee, so what i'm asking is, is it okay to occasionally feed them raw egg as a form of protein.  I have one girl who is a terribly picky eater, but clearly enjoyed her share of warm raw egg yesterday...

[Beano]

I wouldn't if I were you. You could be encouraging them to eat their own eggs.
However I've fed mashed boiled egg to a sickly chicken who was on antibiotics.

[loretta cluck]

So I'd be okay to feed egg to them in cooked form...they didnt seem to see the shelled egg in the same way as the soft one. 

[joyfull]

mine have the occasional raw egg when they have been soft shelled or when I have dropped one and I have never had a hen who goes on to eat their own fully formed eggs  .

[loretta cluck]

Thankyou....If i go home to an empty nest box when i finish work, i know theres a problem!

[Beano]

Admittedly, I've had a chicken eat a soft or broken egg but not if I get there first. Even when I feed them eggshell, I crush it into small pieces so that they don't recognize it as an egg.
Perhaps I'm being a bit neurotic but I've heard that it's a hard habit to break.

[cheekychick22]

i find that all soft egg when they happen are gobbled up by the other hens and they thourghly enjoy it and they never touch the hard shells it just nature taking its course

[symonep]

ous are the same as yours, if they spot a soft shelled egg then it is gone, they love them! they have never attempted to eat a normal shelled egg.

if i have a huge amount of eggs that i cant give away or eat then i make them some scrambled egg (no milk or anything in it, just egg), it is a rare occurance though after the dogs hav e had their raw egg each week and we have had our fill off eggs and the neighbours have eggs comiing out their ears they are normally all gone.