Best way to root out egg eaters

[Oncoming Storm]

As it says, I have egg eaters. I’ll find eggs in a nest soaked in yolk. I want to remove the hens responsible but I have no idea who they are. Anyone have a way to root them out?

 

[chickenlittle21]

Make a small hole in an uncracked egg. Dump out the yolk and white and fill the egg with mustard. Put the egg back into the nest box where the eggs are most commonly eaten. Whoever has mustard on their beak is the egg eater

 

[aart]

As it says, I have egg eaters. I’ll find eggs in a nest soaked in yolk. I want to remove the hens responsible but I have no idea who they are. Anyone have a way to root them out?

Depends on why the eggs are being eaten.
Are the shells thin and easily broken?
Hopefully there is some shell remaining.
Yo may need to stalk the nests for a few days to catch what's going on.
Mustard just makes a different kind of mess in the nests,
and chances are there's more than on bird indulging in the egg eating.
Roll away nests can help.

Need to know more about the situation.
-your flock size(numbers, ages, genders),
-your coop(size in feet by feet with pics),
-and what and how exactly you are feeding,
might offer clues to if there is a solvable problem.

 

[Oncoming Storm]

Depends on why the eggs are being eaten.
Are the shells thin and easily broken?
Hopefully there is some shell remaining.
Yo may need to stalk the nests for a few days to catch what's going on.
Mustard just makes a different kind of mess in the nests,
and chances are there's more than on bird indulging in the egg eating.
Roll away nests can help.

Need to know more about the situation.
-your flock size(numbers, ages, genders),
-your coop(size in feet by feet with pics),
-and what and how exactly you are feeding,
might offer clues to if there is a solvable problem.

Flock size- around 22 all together ranging from four years old to a few months old. 9 roosters and 13 hens (don’t judge me)
Coop- none. They’re free ranged and lay eggs in the barn or outside nests
How and what I’m feeding them- a scoop of five way scratch that I spread out on the ground

 

[aart]

Flock size- around 22 all together ranging from four years old to a few months old. 9 roosters and 13 hens (don’t judge me)
Coop- none. They’re free ranged and lay eggs in the barn or outside nests
How and what I’m feeding them- a scoop of five way scratch that I spread out on the ground

Could be new layers, could be lack of and/or unbalanced nutrition.
5 way scratch is low nutrition...what is the protein and calcium percentages?
How big is the scoop, quart sized?
With the loose and free management, gonna be hard to pinpoint the problem.

Where in this world are you located?
Climate, and time of year, is almost always a factor.
Please add your general geographical location to your profile.
It's easy to do, and then it's always there!

 

[NatJ]

Do you have fake eggs in the nests? If you collect the real eggs often, and have fake ones in the nests, they can spend more time pecking at fake eggs (but not getting any goodies) and hopefully decide eggs are a waste of time.

Since you're finding a mess of yolk in the nest, I wonder if it's accidental breakage (maybe softshell eggs), and not deliberate egg-eating. If a hen was deliberately breaking the egg to eat, I might expect her to eat it up, not spread it all around making a mess.

 

[Oncoming Storm]

Do you have fake eggs in the nests? If you collect the real eggs often, and have fake ones in the nests, they can spend more time pecking at fake eggs (but not getting any goodies) and hopefully decide eggs are a waste of time.

Since you're finding a mess of yolk in the nest, I wonder if it's accidental breakage (maybe softshell eggs), and not deliberate egg-eating. If a hen was deliberately breaking the egg to eat, I might expect her to eat it up, not spread it all around making a mess.

Well I caught two of them fighting over eggshell soooo it may have started as accidental but not so much now.

 

[Oncoming Storm]

Could be new layers, could be lack of and/or unbalanced nutrition.
5 way scratch is low nutrition...what is the protein and calcium percentages?
How big is the scoop, quart sized?
With the loose and free management, gonna be hard to pinpoint the problem.

Where in this world are you located?
Climate, and time of year, is almost always a factor.
Please add your general geographical location to your profile.
It's easy to do, and then it's always there!
View attachment 2177974

I have no idea about the protein and calcium levels. They enjoy it and they forage all day and most of them eat the dog food, the goat feed and the horse feed because they’re in everyone’s business. I’m not sure of the scoop size since most of the readable markings have been chewed and obscured by my dogs. I always felt like it was enough since there was always some leftover after they finished eating. I live in north GA. It’s hot, humid and all around unpleasant this time of year.

 

[aart]

Well I caught two of them fighting over eggshell soooo it may have started as accidental but not so much now.

Was the shell good and hard.....or weak and thin?
Any chance they are laying somewhere the eggs could roll off and break?

I live in north GA. It’s hot, humid and all around unpleasant this time of year.

It's getting that way here, nothing like GA I'm sure, have had a couple heat waves already. Yours can probably find a cool place to be, but.....
I give a dose of Sav-a-Chick electrolytes/vitamins about once a week during heat waves.
It really seems to help....started this after they saved a heat stroked hen once.
Can mix up a smaller amount, just wrap the packet tight and store in a dry cool place.
Always have plain water available too.

BIG(9x14x2") chunks of ice last all day for wading, sitting, and sipping.
Much more useful to the chickens than frozen foods and treats.

Make space in your freezer!

 

[NatJ]

Well I caught two of them fighting over eggshell soooo it may have started as accidental but not so much now.

Yes, I see your point

Do they have access to a dish of oyster shell, or to crushed eggshells? They might need more cacium. (Just giving them the shells after you eat the eggs can help, but probably won't be enough total calcium for them to produce good hard eggshells.)