Chickens eating their eggs, help!!

[pochovilla]

Hello out there - one or some of my 4 chickens are developing a taste for their own eggs. This only started maybe within the last 3 days and I suspect it might have had something to do w/ me allowing them to rummage in the compost bin after I'd put some leftover worm compost in there too which had eggs shells. HELP! What do I do?

 

[TexasVet]

First, make sure it's really the chickens. I feed mine small eggs right out of the nest all the time and they never break one on their own. Could be any of these problems:

1) Thin-shelled eggs that break easily (add calcium)
2) Raccoons or possums breaking and eating the eggs
3) Sometimes a snake, although larger snakes swallow them whole

Kathy in Texas

 

[birdicus7]

Mine started doing the same thing, I think it started as new layers checking their eggs and finding a few soft shells. I read an article in "Chickens" magazine about curing it. You take a good egg and poke a small hole in each end and blow out the contents. Once empty fill with mustard- (chickens hate mustard) and place back in coop. Once they break that egg they will stop. If you have more than one it may take several tries to get all involved, but it does work. Good luck.

 

[pochovilla]

Thanks! I'm sure it's them as we've seen them do it once or twice. I'll try the mustard technique; does anyone have any other recommendations incase that fails?