egg eater?

[ColonelAstroid]

I know there is an egg eater in my flock how can i tell who it is? Could it be a mag pie? We have plenty of those

 

[jenko1]

I am having the same problem. I am feeding 20% layer pellets and I keep Oyster shell in the pen also. Anybody have any ideas, suggestions????

 

[SSAcres]

The only way to tell is to catch her in the act. We had this problem also. We were losing multiple eggs daily. We got some pretty colored plastic easter eggs and scattered them throughout the coop and put some in each of their boxes. They found pecking them open was way more fun and started leaving their eggs alone. We were able to remove them after 3 weeks and so far so good. It's been a few months since we did that.

 

[ColonelAstroid]

Nice idea! They have oyster shell and every thing, but I've heard that if they are eating eggs, it means that they need protein. Is that true? If so, what protein is a protein I can give them?

 

[SSAcres]

Thanks!! Ours are on a 16% layer feed plus oyster shell free ranging all day for bugs n such and scraps. They will eat anything!!

It could b feed related or they're bored or both. Eggs r a good source. Scramble some n offer it as a treat. Its fun watching them eat it. Ours also like cottage cheese. Messy fun treats.

Good luck!

 

[jllynn601]

Catch them in the act. Fortunately (to my best knowledge it was the first time) I happened to be outside and I heard a familiar crack, I looked to my run and saw a hen run out of the coop with an egg shell in her mouth... I gathered up all of the eggs quickly and have not had a problem. I believe she stepped on it and discovered it that way..

My great grandmother put plastic eggs in the coop when she had egg eaters.... If they didn't stop, well, she ate them.

 

[farmgirl02]

How to get rid of an egg eater:
Make a small hole in an egg
Blow the egg yolk out
Fill it with mustard
Put it in a nest box
Your chicken will hate this, and NEVER eat your eggs again. I have had an egg eater and this worked. \
Good luck!

 

[Ravenseye]

I have a serious egg eater problem right now. I tried the mustard in the egg thing but they love to eat that. It sometimes doesn't last an hour. I've got golf balls in there but it's still not working too well. Unfortunately, there appears to be more than one. When a hen lays in the nest, at least two and sometimes three other hens are waiting nearby to get the eggs. I've gone out and collected the eggs and returned in less than a half hour to find one or two broken new ones. I suppose it's possible that they're eating their own eggs. What's worked a little better is raising the lip of the nesting box by three inches or so (it was about two already) and then increasing the straw that's in there. Today, I got 8 eggs with none broken but a lot were under the straw. I think the culprits were jumping into the nesting box and scratching the straw out since each box would be completely cleaned of straw but left with egg white, yolks and shells. WIth a higher lip, it took more work to see the eggs and the scratching disturbed, but did not displace, the straw. The extra straw might have helped keep the eggs from cracking as well. It's too early to know for sure. I'm going to look into those trays but 8 eggs today and 6 yesterday is a lot more than we had been getting which was 1 or 2 and a gooey mess to clean up.

 

[redfancy78]

So we haven't had any problems with our hens till just today, all three eggs had a hole pecked in them. Is it another hen, a wild bird, the stress of the new coopmates (four babies) well not babies anymore, see pic, and they are enclosed still

 

[redfancy78]

in the coop but fence between, was thinking this was a good way to have them safely get used to eachother