Egg Eaters

[Tomomi M]

We have 3 hens and lately, they are laying 1 to 2 eggs daily, but most of the time, 2nd egg is eaten by them. I don't know how to stop this.



They are mature hens - when they came to our house last September, they were 2 years old. Pepper is the only fully feathered one, and Hector and Dusty seem to be going threw molting right now. I understand, they do not lay eggs during molting, but they were producing at least 2 daily up until March. Then I started seeing them eating their own eggs more frequently since. They laid more eggs during the brittle winter than in warm season.

I think we give them more than enough food, maybe too much. We have a feeder filled with lay pellets with oyster shells. We give them a handful of scratch/oyster shell mixture every morning, and lettuce/celery/carrots type veggies during the day. They get daily dose of dried mealworms, and occasionally live earthworms or crickets. They also get occasional snacks like watermelon and corn on the cobs, pasta, and warm oatmeals. My mom told me that if I feed them too much, they won't lay eggs either.

They often crack open and eat egg while the egg is in the nesting box. Sometimes they lay eggs on the ground inside the cage. It is like competition. If I don't get there in time, they get the eggs first. So lately, if they lay 2, we only get 1. We started buying eggs and this is not something we wanted to do.

They are exercising well, I think. The coop itself is 3' x 6'", caged area is 8' x 6', and they have a whole garden to roam around.



Sometimes I find strange-looking eggs. This one was in the box with very thin spot on the egg, and looks like one of them already started pecking at it.



We don't know what to do to stop them from eating eggs. I think they are happy hens. I think we give them more than enough food. I just don't know why they have to eat eggs as well. Please help!!

 

[Chic-n-farmer]

You may need more calcium (oyster shell) to strengthen the eggs. Sometimes all it takes is one soft-shelled egg to crack and then the birds realize there is food in them. Then they work on cracking them.

You can also build a roll-out nesting box that removes the eggs from their reach. Opa has designs for a couple, look him up here on BYC.

 

[Tomomi M]

Thank you for your response.

I searched "Opa" and found these photos. Is this something you were talking about?
https://www.backyardchickens.com/g/i/4894146/coops-nestboxes/

So I should build boxes with slope and the laid eggs roll to the receptor and have some mechanism for them not to access...I will work on that. As you said, they one tasted something tasty I guess. I don't think they are hungry, just liked what they accessed.

We will work on it. Thank you!

 

[Chic-n-farmer]

You are welcome. Opa (Sam) has shared the plans with many people. They are easier to make when planning the coop than when modifying it, but if you have to...

You may also add some fake eggs to the nesting box. If they get no reward for their pecking they may give up.

 

[Chic-n-farmer]

Re-reading your post makes me think you should try the calcium,. Perhaps one of your hens consistently lays a soft, easily broken egg.

If you were not seeing the broken egg, I might think the slower production was due to the birds' ages.

Best of luck to you. They are lovely chickens!

 

[Tomomi M]

When they crack open eggs on dirt, it is not messy. But when they do inside the nesting box, it gets messy, and Hector walks all over the mess. She often has yellow feet and when she does, she makes noise to let other know that she open her or other's egg. I think Hector and Dusty are guilty ones.

I've seen Dusty laying thin shelled eggs a few times. They don't seem to like oyster shells much. I mixed some with oatmeal and they didn't eat them.



They already have fake wooden eggs and golf balls. I asked my friend to change water while we were out of town, he took wooden ones thinking they were real too. How many eggs? "8" he replied. They never laid 8 eggs in 3 days so we figured he took wooden ones without knowing it. They were sitting in his fridge egg case. We laughed.

We need to come up with ideas to keep those fake eggs on a slope (glue?) and make the bottom board soft so that eggs won't break. Lots of thinking to do. Thank you very much for thinking with me.

 

[Chic-n-farmer]

That's funny about the 8 eggs.

Try crushing (really crushing, so they don't recognize them) the empty egg shells and feeding them to the girls for calcium. You are giving them layer feed, right?

I wish you all the best and will be happy to help anyway I can, but I am off to bed, now.

 

[Tomomi M]

Thank you so much. I will do egg shells which is much easier to crash than oyster shells. Good night!

 

[3sisters]

Hi! I have also been experiencing a problem with this as well. I have a two year old Barred Rock Hen, who was a prolific layer her first year, then this winter, she began laying soft shell eggs and from then on. I have noticed when I let her and the other hen out, there is some egg yolk and whites on the pan under their perch. I have not seen any shells, though. I did try the mustard filled egg and dish soap filled and both "dissappeared" the next day! I have 4 hens altogether, two which were added a month ago, due to a predator getting one of our Amercaunas. I was thinking the stress of loosing a fellow hen and a month later, adding two 6 month olf hens may have caused her to stop laying..is what I thought. Then finding the gooey remains of the egg confirmed to me she was laying. I am feeding layer feed, combining it with added oyster shells and the girls get live meal worms. They also get some scratch and sunflower seeds as some added treats. I have checked for worms and have not seen any. My barred rock seems to be healthy, has a huge fenced in back yard to free range with my other three girls. She also has a good appetite, health red comb, has access to fresh water. The other three are laying beautiful eggs, one a day, while my Barred Rock continues to have these problems. They are all of our pets, and going in the boiling pot is not an option Any suggestion would be greatly appreciated. Thank you

 

[WhitneyG]

For a while my hens were eating their eggs too. When I finally got an egg, I poked a hole in both ends and blew out the yolk and white. Then I filled it with mustard (chickens don't like mustard) and put it back into the nest. I kept it in there for a long time... I think maybe one or two pecked at it, but it was still in good shape. After a couple months they stopped. So, I would try that, and then give it time. Hope this helps