Feeding egg shells resulted in chickens eating eggs

[Tre3hugger]

You can always try a roll out nesting box. They protect the eggs once they are laid. It won't help for the eggs laid on the ground, but your new layers should get the hang of the boxes soon. Some financially different examples...
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I have the Hengear one. It is pricey but pretty awesome.

 

[NatJ]

If you decide to use the fake eggs, I know they can get pricey. We had a bunch of rocks from Home Depot left over from when painting and hiding rocks was a big thing in our area. We used some in our nest boxes when our flock first started laying.

That is a good point. The chickens don't seem to care whether it was sold as a "nest egg," or whether it is a rock or a golf ball or something else. As long as it's about the right size and shape, that's what counts.

 

[Brown Chick]

Maybe try the "mustard filled egg" thing to see if that resolves the issue?

 

[Brown Chick]

I blew out some eggs and tried cayenne flakes run through a blender. They liked that but then I did soap eggs and they did NOT eat those!

 

[cmom]

We have oyster shells on the ground and feed layer feed.

I have around 200 birds right now but will soon be hatching. I have hanging feeders in all of the coops. I do give my birds grains and seeds for treats so I put grit and oyster shells in the feeders. It eventually filters down into the pans and the birds take what they want.

 

[VeryHappyHens]

I dont even bake mine just leave them to dry out overnight, crush them and feed them to the girls. Never had one eat an egg yet. Sorry that is happening

same

 

[VeryHappyHens]

Feeding egg shells resulted in chickens eating eggs. I did everything just like people on the forum said. I baked them. I crushed them. I fed them only two times. I went from 9 eggs a day to 6. I saw the deleware peck the egg on my camera and when I got out there all the hens were eating it

Dose she have enough nutrition? What do you feed them.

 

[333113]

I agree that your chickens are probably eating eggs.

But I'm not sure it was caused by feeding them eggshells. There are many other things that could be involved, even though it did start right after you fed them eggshells.


Maybe, but maybe not. It's probably worth spending a bit of time checking for causes and trying to break them of the habit.

--Make sure they have enough calcium, so the eggshells are nice and hard. (This avoids eggs breaking by accident. A dish of oyster shell available free-choice is often a good idea, so the hens can eat as much as they need.)

--Make sure they are getting enough protein: at least 16% and possibly up to about 25% in their food. If they get many low-protein treats they may need an even higher rate of protein in their basic food. (Egg is a good source of protein. Sometimes egg-eating is caused by chickens needing more protein.)

--Try to encourage hens to lay IN the nestboxes, rather than on the floor. (Eggs on the floor are more likely to trigger egg eating. New layers often lay a few eggs in the wrong place and then figure it out for themselves, but in general it helps to have comfortable nestboxes, maybe a bit secluded or darkened, with some fake eggs in them.)

--Collect eggs as frequently as you can. (They cannot eat eggs if the eggs are not there to eat.)

--Provide plenty of fake eggs, in the nestboxes and maybe even one or two on the floor. (Every time a chicken breaks a real egg, she gets to eat the tasty stuff inside. But every time she tries to break a fake egg, she bumps her beak on something hard that does NOT give any tasty treats. Some chickens will eventually give up trying to break eggs, if they have access to fake eggs but not real ones.)

--If you notice one particular hen that regularly breaks open eggs, try penning her separately or getting rid of her. There is a chance that will stop it, if the others haven't yet learned it from her.

Some of those are things you are probably doing already. I was just trying to give a fairly complete list that's all in one place.

I would probably check those things, and then spend a week or two collecting eggs as often as you can while leaving fake eggs around. If it doesn't help in two weeks, then start thinking about whether to replace the flock.

This is great advice!

The only thing I want to add is that egg-eating is a natural instinct. An egg laid out of a nest is a tempting morsel for a predator or a scavenger. Likewise a broken egg can attract predators or scavengers. A hen cannot just pick up an egg and take it back to the nest, so she breaks it and eats it, removing the temptation and protecting her flock and future chicks.

You will also want to check your pens to see if your hens are feeling unsafe. Hens will "deprive" a predator or scavenger of food (eggs) if they see them coming around regularly. You can help them by picking eggs and giving their pen some reinforcement.

Once you rule out the other causes, then you will be able to tell whether your flock has a real problem with egg eating.

 

[Brown Chick]

We are feeding nutrena 18% pellets, snacks are fresh vegs, handful of scratch to get them in. With dried meal worms one time per day. Oyster shell around all the feeders. Free range 4 hrs per day. We mix in 1/4 bag wild game pellets with the feed.

 

[VeryHappyHens]

We are feeding nutrena 18% pellets, snacks are fresh vegs, handful of scratch to get them in. With dried meal worms one time per day. Oyster shell around all the feeders. Free range 4 hrs per day. We mix in 1/4 bag wild game pellets with the feed.

Is there any predators sometimes chicken can break there eggs if there are?