Egg eating chicken

[SaltwaterChickInn]

Should I cull my hen who is eating the eggs? We’ve tried everything from fake eggs to rollaway boxes. She’s actually digging the eggs out of the rollaway box to eat them and grabbing the eggs from under hens while laying! There’s nothing missing in her diet and I have grit, oyster shells available…along with all you can eat feeder, table scraps and free range foraging! I’m so frustrated but I don’t want to send her to freezer camp. The only other option is cutting out the wall of the rollaway box so the eggs roll further out and completely out of reach. I’m aware the other hens can catch on to this bad habit. Asking for expert advice from my chicken Pro’s.

 

[Ilovemychicks08]

Have you tried mustard in a egg. That stopped my last egg eater. The eater before her though i did not keep.

 

[Rock17]

Have you tried blowing the egg and filling it with mustard? If the other girls eat them get new girls the older hens will learn from them

 

[SaltwaterChickInn]

That’s one thing I haven’t tried but willing to give it a go. Thanks

 

[aart]

The only other option is cutting out the wall of the rollaway box so the eggs roll further out and completely out of reach.

This is probably the best option.
Some chickens don't mind mustard, they have no 'hot' receptors.
I've heard dish soap works better.

It's not likely a diet issue, now just a bad habit that is very difficult to break.

 

[Debbie292d]

I have heard of putting curtains over the fronts of the nest boxes worked for some.

 

[SaltwaterChickInn]

Thank you! I will go straight for the dish liquid. She came from a flock that was taken by a hawk. I hate to kill her since she’s a survivor. She came with the bad habit already. I just hope the dish soap doesn’t poison her.

 

[SaltwaterChickInn]

Update: she went for the soap filled egg and almost ate all of it! She kept shaking her head but kept going back eating away at the shell. I don’t know if this bird can be broken.
Question : will her egg be consumable tomorrow after ingesting dish soap and should I try another one? I’m at such a loss

 

[Rock17]

I wouldn’t eat the next few eggs

 

[Rock17]

If she carries on use the mustard. Also adding new birds to the flock will sufficiently distract her so she will not eat them ever again