Breaking eggs issue

[Mrs. K]

Squirrel Man - Hope you enjoyed Custer, it is really a lovely town. My kids went to school there, we had a house in town, as we ranch so far out.

Mrs K

 

[Squirrel Man]

Still getting one single smashed egg a day, plus 2 or three undamaged ones. I put some extra padding in the box.

BTW, I'm using shaved pine for padding, not cedar as I originally stated.

It's brutally hot outside too, mid 90's but it was like that last summer for a few weeks. They do have a lot of shade.

 

[Squirrel Man]

I would leave the oyster shell out for them all the time and keep it full. They can help themselves to as much as they need then.

You can also do a mixture of Mustard, vinegar, hot sauce and water (until it's about egg yolk consistency) and fill an egg with it. Seal with a bit of candle wax and leave in the nest box. That fixed mine eating eggs for a good while and when they started again I'd just fix them up another special egg surprise.

That's just it, I don't think they're (or one) are eating them.

It's probably something stupid like not enough padding in the box but it's really odd that it's suddenly now happening every day for the past 4 or 5 days. Just one single egg a day is crushed (shell not eaten). The other 3 or so eggs are fine.

I'm not sold on these cedar chips either, I just started using them earlier this year. I might go back to straw.

Thanks for your reply! And to the others who've replied!

 

[Squirrel Man]

I have a red sex link that kays very thin shelled eggs. Yesterday was so thin it was like the consistency of a rubber glove.? with the insides spilled out in bedding.
Let them have as much oyster shell as possible, and give back their shells too. I've also given them dissolved calcium citrate tablet . I was told to give directly in her beak but wasn't sure which hen it was.
If they are egg eating I ditto the mustard idea.
Difference here is I only have one thin shelled egg layer. I hope this helps,
I also ditto the more feed and less treat post as this will give more calcium in diet. I feed very little bread, treats are small amounts of black oil sunflower seeds, some scratch, floating fish food ( cheap protein 38%) and I started wetting their feed.
Cold fruit scraps and veggie scraps.

I stopped the hospital scraps two weeks ago and that's the odd part. Because of the flies that scraps attract this time of the summer. The daily egg smash seemed to start right after that.

They don't seem to be taking much of the pellets also by my observation. Wondering if I spoiled them.

Going to ramp up the oyster shell this weekend but do you think feeding them their eggshells back (after we cook with them) matters?

Thanks!

 

[Happy hen lover]

I use pine shavings as well .

 

[Idaho Chicken Bungalow]

Pine shaving only!

 

[Happy hen lover]

I use pine shavings as well .

I like the mini flake one.