Egg eaters puzzled in what to do

[ThaJuicyJuice]

My 4 hens were great layers. But now i rarely get one egg. They lay periodically throughout the day and rarely in the morning. I leave the house at about 7 am and often don't make it home until 9 pm. It' s a long day. I do make sure they have plenty of food and water and throw in fallen fruit from my fruit trees just about every morning.

Would love to start collecting eggs. Short of quitting my job to catch the eater, what can I do?

Thanks

 

[ChicKat]

Hi,

They make something called a 'roll away nest'. The premise is that once the hen produces the egg it rolls to a place where she cannot get it. It is safe for the duration, and there for you to pick up.

There is also a product called 'bumper bits' or 'bumpa bits'. It is a plastic device that fits on the chicken's beak.

Here are some links.
This was the first image that came up on google, it is in the UK, but these are avail. in the USA. You might also use the search bar at the top of this page and see what people in the forum are doing.
http://www.wheatcroftpoultry.co.uk/productDetails.asp?intProductID=406&intCategoryID=23

Although Bumper Bits are designed to stop pecking other chickens, it also interferes with the chickens ability to break into the egg.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/673137/device-to-stop-pecking

If soft shells are a problem and you go to my byc page (link in signature) then find the link to my charts-and-quotes page, there are instructions for getting harder shells if the problem is nutritional.

Good luck