I found out yesterday I got some egg eaters. Now that I think about it, I've probably had them for awhile, so everybody is in on the plan. :/ What should I do to stop it? I've been collecting eggs more then usual, but how often should I be doing it?
Blow out some of your eggs. Then, fill them with mustard and hot sauce and tape the holes on each side. Put those into each nest box. Once a chicken gets a mouthful of that, they will be cured of eating eggs any more.
Personally I collect eggs 4 times a day and if I am doing yard work or cleanups I collect more often. No egg eating problem here but prevention is the best medicine and I won't allow eggs to sit around unless I have a broody hen.
Hopefully you can find out who the egg eaters are and put a stop to it. It is not easy. If you see who is doing the egg eating, separate them for a while with a couple of wooden or porcelain eggs. Remove any evidence of eaten eggs such as bit chunks of shell, wet spots in the nesting boxes, etc.
Also, keep an eye out for a hen going from one nesting box to another back and forth and scratching it the nesting boxes. That will probably be your culprit. A normal chicken goes to one box, does her egg laying then gets out. An egg eater will hop from nest to nest staedily looking for the eggs to bust open. Hopefully you can put a stop to it. It can be very difficult if it has gone on for a while.
Be persistant on the egg collection, first and foremost. You can hang out if you can where the eggs are being layed and it will take little time to find the guilty party(ies). Best of luck. I know how frustrating that can be..... Steve
I had a problem with it too for a while. I started collecting a few times a day & I also put out a few fake eggs. This seemed to have really helped. I have only had it happen once since the change. Its very frustrating though - pretty sure it is my BCM hen too. Good luck