egg eaters - is there any way back?

[spish]

so i have a problem i was hoping id never had....my flock of orpingtons µhave began eating there own eggs

i thought it was a rat stealing them or something, but nope, i caught the girls in the act today.
these are my lavender and cuckoo orps so culling is really really really a last resort, they are worth (and have cost me so far) an awful lot of money (we're talking hundreds of euros)
so what are my options?
i was thinking first of trying mustard injected into an empty egg shell? see if this will help? ive up protein in the feeds and given extra oystershell tubs around the coop


what else could i do? ive hard of rollaway egg boxes...how do these actually work and are they expensive????

 

[jessica117]

My black cochins had started doing the same thing last fall.... and so far this spring i am getting eggs. It's like it's been so long since they layed an egg the have forgotten how good they taste

I know this probably won't help you since it is spring. My egg laying mutts only will eat an egg if it is layed on the coop floor, anything on the floor is fair game... lol

What got my cochins started was I had let the hay in their nest get low and I'm pretty sure one broke in there... that's when they started eating.

I would look into a roll-away nest and see if maybe you can figure out a way to build one yourself. My understanding of them is that they have a slanted floor so that gravity rolls the egg down into a closed compartment either in the back or on the side of the nesting box. They also would have to have a soft foam or rubber floor so that the egg doesn't break when it drops out of their fuzzy butts

I know the ones that I saw in one of the livestock mags weren't cheap.

The mustard filled egg might work... I'd give it a try... the more eggs they eat... the harder it will be to break them of it.

Good luck and sorry I don't have any more ideas

 

[collsyl]

We have had the same problem , but just once in awhile.I read to put golf balls in the nest boxes, and they can peck at those and they will soon learn that they get nothing from them and give up.Also, you have to check the nest boxes frequently , so as to not give them a chance to eat them.We are now checking 3-4 times a day.They still get to eat one ,occasionally, if they lay late in the day and it gets left over night.But, we seem to be keeping mostly on top of it.
Good luck!

 

[Imp]

You can also try filling an egg with horseradish or liquid soap. As mentioned fake eggs (golf, pingpong, wooden, stone). Collecting frequently.
I had success breaking mine by rearranging the coop, I think it shook them up.
There are plans available for making your own roll away nest boxes
Good luck,
Imp

 

[hennyannie]

I also had good luck moving the hens. They didnt lay good for a little while but at the rate they were eating them I would have been down to 0 anyway. Also keep a watch if you can, I have found that one naughty hen usually starts the whole rodeo.