Egg sucking hen

[IrishEMT]

Hey everyone, I am new to this site, so this is my first post.
I'm hoping someone out there can help me with a problem I'm having with one of my hens.
I have two 1 year old Australorps, and also a 1 year old Brahma.

I am currently studying abroad in China, so I apologize if my information is vague, I'm getting it second hand from
my Dad via email. Apparently, one of the hens has started breaking the eggs and eating them. It's making a mess,
and it's obviously not healthy. My Dad was raised on a farm, and the way they usually handle this is the egg sucker becomes
dinner. I'm trying to avoid this outcome, and I'm hoping somebody has experience with this problem can give me some advice
about what we can do to try to stop this behavior. We're not sure which hen is the problem, but when my Dad figures it out,
it's gonna be solved one way or another...

I'm also worried about the other hens picking up this habit. If they all start doing it and we can't fix it, I'm gonna lose them all.

We only use organic feed, and since the problem has started, we've been adding calcium/vitamin D3 to their feed.
So far it hasn't made a difference.

Please help!! Any advice would be much appreciated.

 

[kla37]

https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?pid=1463000

This is a thread with great instructions for making a roll away nest box, so when the egg is laid it rolls to a compartment where she won't be able to get at it. A lot of folks have had success with this. Best of luck! Hope you are enjoying your experience in China! We have family from Taiwan.

 

[chickened]

Organic isn't always best birds need supplemented feed especially if penned. If the hen is eating eggs with a balanced diet and water available you most likely will be wasting your time. Feeding an eggeater is like leaving a bad apple in the box.

 

[ginormous chicken]

Here is my trick: can't believe I am giving this away: ready? Set: Go: OK take one of the egg she likes to eat, and blow it out with a straw. Then, I replace the insides with mustard. Preferably deli mustard because it is spicy. Then I place it back into the hen house. I have done this before and it works like a charm!!! After I do it for like 3 days, the culprt tends to move on and stop doing it. Although, my old hen use to do it out of boredom. After the mustard trick I put a flock block down to give her something to peck at.

Now you know.

Good Luck.

PS if you are feeding organic feed, I would switch for a little while.. see if she is missing some vital nutrients she is trying to find in the eggs.

 

[kla37]

Quote:
That is a great idea, I'll try that first if I ever have a problem like this.