Egg eaters!

[Janet Pesaturo]

From what you say, it is not really clear to me how many eggs they are eating. Are you getting any eggs, or are they eating them all? I ask because I occasionally see a hen eating an egg, but in my 8 years of chicken keeping, it has never become a persistent and widespread problem. After much observation, I have discovered that my hens will eat an egg if it accidentally breaks as they scuffle in and out of the next boxes. But they have not yet figured out that they can peck the eggs open themselves to get the goods. So I've never culled for this issue.

 

[subhanalah]

Before you decide to cull any of them, try giving extra calcium. Free choice oyster shell or crushed egg shells (no, this will not make the egg eating worse). This has worked for me. I'm not saying it will cure every egg eater, but it might be worth a shot if you're willing to try it. 

this is another important point.

 

[AlaskaGrown]

On days we work and only gather eggs in the evening we get 2-3 eggs per 8 chickens. This Friday when I had time off I went in and gathered multiple times for a total of 6 eggs. Today I was able to save 3 and noticed that at least 2 had been eaten

 

[AlaskaGrown]

I have been giving them oyster shells in their feed as well as scattered throughout the run and yard. I will start giving them crushed up egg shells. Do you think moving their feed from outside to in the coop would help?

 

[AlaskaGrown]

I should mention that we have only had these hens for a short while. I'm wondering if the seller wanted to get rid of them because he suspected one or several to be egg eaters...

 

[subhanalah]

Seems like a sound guess.

 

[Janet Pesaturo]

I should mention that we have only had these hens for a short while. I'm wondering if the seller wanted to get rid of them because he suspected one or several to be egg eaters...

Ha! I bet you hit the nail on the head. Nothing like passing these sorts of problems on to someone else...

 

[AlaskaGrown]

Well... the golf balls didn't seem to work, and roll away nesting boxes were a turnoff... I ended up selling the troubled hen to someone who was willing to deal with the madness. After the hen left the flock, no more eggs have been eaten.

 

[subhanalah]

That's good news. Thanks for the update.

 

[Beekissed]

I noticed a wet spot in the coop last week... on two occasions. This morning I went into the coop to collect eggs and found a hen eating an egg. Trouble is there were three hens in the coop while this was happening. I chased the three out of the coop and confirmed that they had in fact eaten an egg. I then sat in a lawn chair for the next 20-30 minutes to see if any returned. All three went back in during that time. A short time after a hen went in to lay, one of the three guilty parties seemed to be cruising every nesting box for a treat...or so I thought. A short while later the hen nestled down to lay...

What in the world do I do...

I was thinking of culling the known culprit, a small 2yr old orpington who had yolk running down her beak when I caught the three initially...

Any insight would be great.

It's a normal behavior and will pass when egg shells firm up and no longer get damaged in the nest. No need to try and "break" the culprit or cull the bird. This too shall pass. Have had chickens for 38 yrs and never had an "egg eater"...they will all eat eggs opportunistically when they are cracked or broken open. It's important that they do to keep the nests clean..it's instinctive.