Bully chicken, eating everyone's eggs!

Sep 28, 2017
25
11
64
Upstate Ny
Hey all. My queen of the coop( PBR), in the last week has taken to collecting everyone's eggs and rolling them into a corner behind the nesting boxes (crazy hard for me to get to, and the space is too small for my leg horns to get into as well) at first we thought that maybe she had gone broody, and being the bossy little thing that she is was wanting ALL the eggs to sit on, not just hers. But everyday that I have gone out to check on everything, the eggs are gone! I have been down right furious, thinking that someone(neighbor or neighborhood kids) had been "stealing the egss" but this morning as I was feeding up I noticed Gidget was back in her hidey hole and I heard a tap-tap-tap so I went around and peeked in, she had collected 4 eggs and was sitting in front of them purposely cracking them open and eating them! Why is she doing this, and more importantly how do I make her stop!? We haven't had a single egg in almost a week, and we generally get 7-8 eggs a day! Also, she has gotten mean! Gidget has been my 4yo daughters best friend since hatching, is usually very loving amd will seekout cuddles when me or my daughter go in the yard and now she chases my daughter and tries to peck me at every opportunity :'(
 
Sadly, I would cull. :hmm

But you can try placing a bunch of fake eggs for her to peck and discover nothing... since it is very often started by accidental broken egg.

I have heard of people using mustard filled eggs too... but have no real experience in that department.

IS she broody... but stupid? The change in behavior is odd. How iold is she?

Good luck! :fl
 
Sadly, I would cull. :hmm

But you can try placing a bunch of fake eggs for her to peck and discover nothing... since it is very often started by accidental broken egg.

I have heard of people using mustard filled eggs too... but have no real experience in that department.

IS she broody... but stupid? The change in behavior is odd. How iold is she?

Good luck! :fl



She is just over a year now and has always been so sweet, her change in demeanor is what bothers me the most... when we got her and the other 4 last year we didnt get any roosters, just hens, and back in February we added our new flock and got a roo so we could start breeding, we integrated the roo and new hens about 2 weeks ago, they are about 15weeks now so we were thinking that his presence threw her but now we don't know :'( I'm going to try the dummy eggs. I would hate to cull her because my daughter loves her so much, so if she doesn't fix her attitude and egg eating ways I guess I'm going to have to build her a separate pen :(
 
Cull could mean sell or give away. It doesn't have to mean kill. :)

we integrated the roo and new hens about 2 weeks ago, they are about 15weeks now so we were thinking that his presence threw her

Your new roo and hens are 15 weeks old? They don't get those badges technically until they reach 1 year old. Before that they are pullets and cockerels. It makes a huge difference in behavior expectations so can be a helpful distinction. At home, we keep it casual though. ;)

Before integrating were they in a look but don't tough set up for a while? I suspect this (new birds) to be the route cause. But what makes her a bully? To the other birds or you? Towards you is what seems broody.

You might have a space issue too...

Extra feeders and visual barriers are always helpful when adding new birds. Fake eggs help a lot.. it shows the layers that someone else is happy to lay there and it's safe. But if they always lay eggs and come back to an empty nest... gotta find another place to lay.

I did have a hatchery PBR go broody in her and raise 9 adopted chicks wonderfully during her second lay season. That would explain the sudden change in behavior better than the new addition which I'm sure has SOME effect.

She may have been getting broody and had a happy accident. But what is she doing most the day long? Do you know where she normally lays and if she's been laying?

Hopefully it can resolve without a separate pen... though I always keep my boys in a separate pen until they mature a bit and gain some manners.
 

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