Egg Eaters

[rebrascora]

If they are being broken open but not eaten, then it hardly seems like a hen is doing it to for protein. Whilst I could understand it happening in winter out of boredom, there are usually much more interesting things to scratch and peck at in Spring. I'm still loath to point the finger at hens if they have never done this before and no new additions. As I said, both rats and jackdaws are targeting my eggs at the moment. It is the season for raising young and other creatures want higher protein feed to feed babies or produce eggs . It is not surprising that there are an increased number of posts about egg eating at this time of year.

 

[ILuvMyFlock]

It's good for them to eat some of their eggs. I always throw back some eggs for mine. They need more calcium and so forth, I recommend buying them some at the feed store.

 

[Ljc01]

My birds are all in their first spring laying season, except Oreo my Old BR. My cat seems to be controlling the rodent population, I find mice and gopher parts in the house. Wish he would not bring me these gifts.
Three golden sex links, one black sex link, two Astralorps, two EE and Oreo.

 

[Ljc01]

Here is another egg that someone has picked out but not eaten . Another egg for the dog.

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

What do your nestboxes look like? Keep them darkened, and high enough off the ground to discourage curious pecking. Keep ceramic eggs in them to make pecking unsuccessful, golf balls can work too. It is odd they aren't eating them, so I think it's a case of just because they can.

 

[Ljc01]

Here is a picture of my nesting boxes with the new wooden eggs I put in today. There were no broken eggs today.

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

Curtains may help too.

 

[Sunny-Side Up]

How should I set up the curtains, so that they can't see their eggs but will still go into the nesting boxes?

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

I think people hang strips of fabric that slowly get let down, but I have never done it myself. Might be they can see the eggs too easily, usually the eggs are below the lip on the box, yours sit a bit higher.

 

[rebrascora]

I have used old feed bags for curtains. Chickens are quite inquisitive so they will investigate even though their nest boxes look different. Try adding curtains to two of them and leave the third open, so that if they don't figure it our they still have a normal looking box to use, but you may find they actually prefer the curtained ones. I would staple a feed bag to a pole or wooden lath and poke one end through the chain link just above the height of the nest boxes and fasten it however you can at the other end (not sure if you have chain link at the other side or how wide it is that you could put it through the chain link at both sides. Then use scissors to cut and trim as necessary. If you leave the curtains an inch or two short of the lip on the nest boxes, that is usually enough to encourage them to investigate and cut up the middle of course to allow them to push through them.
There is one thing for sure, the egg breakage is certainly not down to a lack of nesting material!! Those are very well padded nest boxes.

One question.....

Are the broken eggs in the nest box or out on the ground and (since I see you have multi coloured layers) is it only eggs of a particular colour being broken or is there no discrimination? Just wondering if it is a particular hens egg that it is happening to. Are the shells of the broken eggs good solid quality or a bit weak? I am doing my best to find an alternative reason for the egg breakage than blaming a hen for doing it deliberately, unless you have seen one break open an intact egg in front of you. What I find amazing is that the eggs that are broken are not eaten. None of my hens have ever deliberately broken an egg but I've seen weak shelled ones get accidentally broken or I've accidentally dropped and broken one and then it's a mad frenzy of egg eating to clean it up, so the egg lying broken but uneaten is really weird, be it hens or some other vermin that's breaking it.