Egg eaters

[Freie Family Farm]

I got 10 almost 2yr old chickens 2 days ago. Yesterday they ate one of the eggs. Today they did it again. I tilted nesting boxes, made them darker, added bedding, added fake eggs, gave them more food options, refreshed water, added more places to get oyster shell... what do I do if they keep doing it? I have a feeling I know the 3-4 culprits but I cant spring for a camera right now to find out. Ang ideas to help me?

 

[Chickensandhorsesforlife]

They will keep doing this. collect them all of the time, and put some golf balls in there

 

[Freie Family Farm]

I go out every 15min. I always have. We use eggs in everything but the family will only eat chicken eggs by themselves. And since none of my chickens are reliable, I have to go frequently to check. I ended up taking out who I think has been doing it. Waiting to see if it happens again. I feel bad because the chickens we got clearly weren't taken care of properly and I wanted to give them a happy home but we don't have room for 2 separate coops.

 

[Ridgerunner]

To me it is pretty normal for a chicken to eat an egg that is already broken. That doesn't make them an egg eater. It is when they purposely open an egg to eat it that they are an egg eater. Are you sure those eggs aren't accidentally breaking, maybe because they are thin shelled, got scratched out of a nest, something like that?

I've only had one hen that would purposely open an egg but there were a few more that helped her eat it after she opened it. She'd only open one or two a day but it was one or two every day. It took a couple of days to figure out which one it was, but I put an egg on the coop floor and watched her open it. Not just peck a time or two or move it around but actually open it.

I ate her before she could teach any of the others to open an egg so I can't say I've tried any of the other tricks. I keep golf balls in my nest as fake eggs and she still opened eggs, not sure how much fake eggs help. If you can build rollaway nests and get them all to use them you should be OK. Other than that I just don't know.

 

[Freie Family Farm]

We literally just built the new larger coop a few weeks ago. From what the previous owner said, either the easter egger or the ri red has been purposely going after eggs.
I heard of putting mustard in a shell egg because chickens hate mustard and it may deter them from eating the eggs. And the only way for them to break an egg in the coop is by pecking it continuously. These girls are definitely more skittish than my girls

 

[VeryHappyHens]

I got 10 almost 2yr old chickens 2 days ago. Yesterday they ate one of the eggs. Today they did it again. I tilted nesting boxes, made them darker, added bedding, added fake eggs, gave them more food options, refreshed water, added more places to get oyster shell... what do I do if they keep doing it? I have a feeling I know the 3-4 culprits but I cant spring for a camera right now to find out. Ang ideas to help me?

Do they have enough nutrition. Sometimes hens will eat there eggs for a week to repleash nutrition if there missing any.!!

 

[Thunder344]

I got 10 almost 2yr old chickens 2 days ago. Yesterday they ate one of the eggs. Today they did it again. I tilted nesting boxes, made them darker, added bedding, added fake eggs, gave them more food options, refreshed water, added more places to get oyster shell... what do I do if they keep doing it? I have a feeling I know the 3-4 culprits but I cant spring for a camera right now to find out. Ang ideas to help me?

There is a thing where you can poke a hole in a egg, and then use a paper clip that has been stretched out and scramble the egg inside the shell. Then drill a hole in the other end, and blow all the scrambled egg whites and yolk out. Then fill the hollowed egg with mustard. Next time they try to eat a egg, they will get a face full of mustard and they should stop.

 

[Freie Family Farm]

I've had them literally 2 days. For those 2 days they have tons of treats, feed and 2 areas to get oyster shell

 

[Freie Family Farm]

I found the egg devourer... the ri red

 

[Freie Family Farm]

So its the RI red and 1 of the buff polish (shes also a mean jerk). I have played a very long fun day of chicken roulette lol the non egg eaters are chilling in one area while my 2 egg attackers are by themselves