Chicken pecking egg open

[T-rexGma]

Hi - I have 7 laying hens and one broody that hatched chicks about a week ago. In the past 2 weeks one of my easter Eggers has her egg pecked open (see attached pic). Is she doing it? Or one of the others? How do I find out and what should I do. They are not eating it just pecking it open. Thanks in advance.

 

[Lemon-Drop]

How many times has this happened? There are some articles about egg eating habits and such. As far as who it is that’s pecking them, I can’t help you. Hopefully someone else has more knowledge?

 

[flumpus]

I met a farmer who introduced me to her flock, and she told me that one of her hens had recently started to eat eggs in the nesting boxes. She knew which hen it was, and said that the only solution would be to get rid of/eat the hen. If you don't want to process her, maybe try replacing the eggs with fake ceramic eggs? If she keeps trying to peck them and they don't crack, it might be enough to break the habit.

 

[Lemon-Drop]

I met a farmer who introduced me to her flock, and she told me that one of her hens had recently started to eat eggs in the nesting boxes. She knew which hen it was, and said that the only solution would be to get rid of/eat the hen. If you don't want to process her, maybe try replacing the eggs with fake ceramic eggs? If she keeps trying to peck them and they don't crack, it might be enough to break the habit.

Wow. I’ve never heard of killing a chicken just for egg eating. But I guess it’s a solution. I usually put rocks or ceramic eggs in the nesting box, and if they’re still eating them, just spend a few days constantly with the chickens and checking/collecting eggs as often as possible.

 

[rosemarythyme]

Hmm, really the only way to know exactly which bird is doing it is to literally stand and watch, or to put a camera on them to try and see which one(s) are guilty.

If you don't really care which is doing it and just want to protect the eggs, adding extra fakes could possibly help, or a roll out nest box.

Wow. I’ve never heard of killing a chicken just for egg eating.

If eggs are the priority/your livelihood, that's considered acceptable, as the egg eater can teach the behavior to the rest of the flock.

 

[neo71665]

Only way I've ever broke an egg eater was the stock pot or frying pan.

 

[Lemon-Drop]

Hmm, really the only way to know exactly which bird is doing it is to literally stand and watch, or to put a camera on them to try and see which one(s) are guilty.

If you don't really care which is doing it and just want to protect the eggs, adding extra fakes could possibly help, or a roll out nest box.


If eggs are the priority/your livelihood, that's considered acceptable, as the egg eater can teach the behavior to the rest of the flock.

Oh, I guess that’s true. I guess I more think from the “backyard chicken keepers” than the “business” perspective...but now that you explained that better, I can see how that would make sense.

 

[PippinTheChicken]

Maybe she thinks there's a chick inside and is trying to help it???

 

[gtaus]

Hi - I have 7 laying hens and one broody that hatched chicks about a week ago. In the past 2 weeks one of my easter Eggers has her egg pecked open (see attached pic). Is she doing it? Or one of the others? How do I find out and what should I do. They are not eating it just pecking it open. Thanks in advance.

I had a problem with an egg eater last summer. I immediately started to collect the eggs as many times per day as I could. I have fake wooden eggs in the nest boxes, and would leave them in the boxes. Long story short, it broke the habit of egg eating.

I was happy in that I did not have to try other methods, such as a blown egg filled with mustard and hot sauce. But if the egg eating continued, I would have had to find out which chicken was eating the eggs and probably send her to freezer camp. From what I have heard, egg eating can spread in the flock pretty fast, so I hope you jump on this problem and good luck in breaking the habit.

 

[HawaiiCoyote]

I had a problem with an egg eater last summer. I immediately started to collect the eggs as many times per day as I could. I have fake wooden eggs in the nest boxes, and would leave them in the boxes. Long story short, it broke the habit of egg eating.

I had success breaking an egg eater with this method a couple of years ago.