Egg eating :(

[TheHenHen]

Hello, I have this Black Star (laying) hen that eats freshly laid eggs if she is in the coop.

My mom suggested blowing out the whites and yolk out of a egg, and filling it with mustard to see if the next time my Black Star eats it, she won't like it. Me and my dad were doing this craft that involved poking a hole through a egg, and blowing out the whites and the yolk, but blowing was to hard. So my dad sucked the whites and yolk and ate them.

It would be hard to do it again, so I don't want to put him in any trouble. Any better ideas?

Thanks!!

 

[Tammy N]

Mine started this i got her oyster shells and it stopped could be calcium Good luck

 

[TheHenHen]

Thank you. My mom has tried oyster shells to give our chickens more calcium, because their eggs were all wrinkly and soft shells. The chickens were not interested, but I'll try it again

 

[RoostersCrow HensDeliver!]

Does she eat all the eggs in the nestbox or just hers?
I've never had luck stopping a cronic egg eater. I've culled them before they teach the others to become egg eaters too.

 

[TheHenHen]

She does eat her own eggs, then if there is more chickens in the coop, she'll invite them to eat the eggs with her before anyone sees her. We know she's eating the eggs cause I've seen egg shells on the coop floor, and I was holding an egg once, she was around, and she jumped and made a hole in the egg with her beak.

 

[RoostersCrow HensDeliver!]

Just jumping at the egg in your hand isn't a 100% indicator that she is your egg eater. If you hand out treats at any time, she might just figure that it's a treat. I've had this happen by hens who are completely innocent of egg eating. I'm sure that they thought I was handing out dinner rolls again.

I'm just saying that you want to make sure to get rid of the guilty bird if you cull her, like I'd do. If you catch her with yolk covering her beak than that's your culprit 100% guaranteed.

 

[TheHenHen]

That's another thing, she has a crusty yellow head feathers.

 

[RoostersCrow HensDeliver!]

If she has coagulated yolk on her face then she's your gal.

 

[Tammy N]

Chicken and Dumplings .

Or maybe the oyster shell you got was too big My first bag was and i got smaller shells Worked great ,,
Tammy

 

[sallihennipenni]

We had this problem after we had started feeding our hens cheaper food. Once we got them back on the good stuff, the problem stopped. We have offered oyster shells and like you they don't seem to be interested.