Egg-eating

[Qwatra]

I have read this whole thread and wow, egg eating seems to be way too common! I stopped my flock with mustard. But I did things a bit differently. I took two halves of eggshell from our breakfast and painted the inside of each half with spicy mustard. Then I simply offered it to the chickens. I instantly found out who the egg-eaters were because they all dove on the eggshells. But as soon as they got a mouthful of mustard, they shook their heads and scraped their beaks on the ground. I also took a natural-colored plastic egg and tossed it on the ground. Again they all ran for it. They pecked at it, they wandered off as they realized it wouldn't break. I repeated this several times a day until no one showed any interest in the eggs. I have ceramic eggs in the nests and gather all the fresh eggs several times a day. I also feed plenty of oyster shell. I haven't lost any more eggs.

 

[Extra Java]

If you have 4 males on 12 females this could be a problem. It is generally recommended 1 cock per 10 hens. Definitely no more than 2.

I had an egg eating problem when I had 2 males...the males were so attentive to the egg laying and ran over every single time an egg was laid, called all the girls over to have a feast. I blew out eggs and filled with tabasco, mustard, salt, vinegar...I watched them all eat every crumb. Didn't work. Removing 1 cock along with adding ceramic eggs worked. I'm saving up for "roll-out" style nest boxes but since the male has been removed, the problem has stopped. I feed scrambled eggs daily and raw clabbered milk. This was simply a very bad habit I finally saw in action when I pulled up a chair and observed for myself.

 

[xxnativewolfxx]

a couple years ago I got my first chickens! 4 astrolorps and 6 mixed breed banty hens and it was around when the astrolorps were about 8 months old when they started laying GOOD!! (I had bought them when they were 5 months old) then about a month later I dropped an egg in there pen and the one hen started gobbling it up like crazy and then a couple of days when by and I noticed ......I wasent getting ENY eggs anymore!! at that point I thought something was eating them like a rat or something so I thought it would stop but it didn't so about 3 months later of not getting ENY **** eggs!! I decided to put a fake egg on the floor just to see what happened and Shure enough I did and the very same hen ran as fast as she could to it and started pecking the HECK out of it!! so I decided to separate her and try and break her well Shure enough it didn't work so I decided to end the egg eating and I took her down back and then we had a lovely chicken diner!!

 

[chickenD]

After several weeks of sparadic laying, I was advised to worm my flock. For a week I allowed them to drink water with a wormer, and replaced that water with water with 1 pint of mollasas mixed in the water. Since then i have gathered several eggs each day.....not saying your flock needs worming but it is possible.

 

[Extra Java]

a couple years ago I got my first chickens! 4 astrolorps and 6 mixed breed banty hens and it was around when the astrolorps were about 8 months old when they started laying GOOD!! (I had bought them when they were 5 months old) then about a month later I dropped an egg in there pen and the one hen started gobbling it up like crazy and then a couple of days when by and I noticed ......I wasent getting ENY eggs anymore!! at that point I thought something was eating them like a rat or something so I thought it would stop but it didn't so about 3 months later of not getting ENY **** eggs!! I decided to put a fake egg on the floor just to see what happened and Shure enough I did and the very same hen ran as fast as she could to it and started pecking the HECK out of it!! so I decided to separate her and try and break her well Shure enough it didn't work so I decided to end the egg eating and I took her down back and then we had a lovely chicken diner!!

LOL! I bet she was yummy.

 

[xxnativewolfxx]

lol SHE WAS I felt terrible because she went in like a store bought chicken but when she was done all her appendages were sprawled out every which way! it was horrible but she tasted sooo good I stuffed her with apples garlic lemons cloves basil even in her skin it was sooo GOOD! lol

 

[Eyeshot]

lol SHE WAS I felt terrible because she went in like a store bought chicken but when she was done all her appendages were sprawled out every which way! it was horrible but she tasted sooo good I stuffed her with apples garlic lemons cloves basil even in her skin it was sooo GOOD! lol

That sounds delectable, and now you'll have more eggsses

 

[H E R]

Uhhh Ohhh now your hen was eating the eggs, now you're eating the chickens.... hahaha too funny.

 

[xxnativewolfxx]

yes I have so many eggs I don't know what to do with them all!!! lol well what the egg eater would do is wait until the other hens went up into the boxes and then go up and sit WITH them and wait for the egg!! then gobble it up faster than they could lay it!

 

[BinaryChicken]

I found a possum in my nest box last night.