Egg-eating

[jflanny]

I have tried all of those things to no avail. I am still getting eggs but check coop few times a day. I generally lose about 2 eggs and gather 4-5 with several who have not started laying yet after the winter. I am looking for a nesting box insert someone recommended so the eggs drop below the insert and then can be safely gathered.

 

[Marce705]

I've been battling egg eaters as well. I swear they all do it. Mostly my Aricaunas...I love them but they're making me nuts. I was getting between 9-12 eggs a day all winter from 13 hens. Now I'm lucky to get 2. We spent hours making roll away nest boxes. ( I found them online for like $65 bucks each...what??!!!) So, here we are day 2...wish me luck. They have always had access to oyster shells, treats, I hang cabbages, squash, melons so they don't get bored. I just ordered chicken saddles as a couple of my "brilliant" Polish girls are getting picked at, and now the egg eating. They are so lucky that they're mine and I love them so much. MEH! Any ideas on how to get them to stop picking at each other's heads? I have a decent sized run (8'x10') right now, way bigger than the ones you see online. I'm going to triple the size this spring so they have more room to run around. Hopefully that helps.

 

[jflanny]

I swear you sound like me. I have several chicken saddles which worked well but take them off after they are healed so feathers can grow. I read that chickens do not like the color blue or purple so I bought some of that blue areosol wound spray that helped keep them away. You can also buy it as a liquid if the spray doesn't work on their heads.

Please report back on the nesting box inserts. Where did you buy them? I read that sometines you have to put some hay on top at first so they will use them and gradually remove the hay so the inserts will do the job.

Good luck!

 

[Marce705]

thanks for the blue trick..this ought to be funny...meh... I am very lucky to have a wickedly talented boyfriend who happens to own a welding shop who modified the nest boxes I had. Really simple..ish.. cost me about 13 bucks. We /he knocked the front off of nest boxes, cut them in half and made longer sides. Took hardware cloth? (small metal wire cage stuff ) and stapled around to make the baskets at the ends...added top and bottoms... We screwed a piece of wood to the underside of the back of the boxes to make it slant and added a cut-to-fit door mat to cushion the eggs. I'll send photos if you like. Took a couple hours to do 3 boxes. Anyway....I did put a little hay in them to feel normal. I think the ladies are onto me though. We'll see when I get home from work today.

 

[Marce705]

SUCCESS!!!!!! 10 EGGS AND SOME VERY FRUSTRATED HENS. Roll away nest boxes worked for me!! Now if the chicken saddles work, life will be good.

 

[Maximus23471214]

Recently I ran into the problem of egg eating hens but thankfully I was able to stop it using there now "favorite" treat....mustard eggs!!!

 

[IloveBuffy]

Any ideas on how to get them to stop picking at each other's heads?

Rooster Booster tastes HORRIBLE to them (and probably to us too), I used that on my chickens, and for the most part, it worked.

 

[Marce705]

Very cool. I ordered some the other day.., should be in the mail very soon. My poor naked headed girls. UGH. Thanks for the suggestions OXOXO

 

[Kurovod]

Carve egg-shaped forms from bars of light-colored soap and put them in the nest. It works!

 

[Chickens R Us]

At this point I'll try anything.