HEEEEELLLLP!!! Homicide in my flock!!!!! HELP!!!!!

[suzettex5]

I dont know what to do! I went to the coop this morning to check my broody hens' eggs thta are due to hatch any day now and HORROR!! There was blood on the straw in the coop, the mom was out in the yard stetching and walking around and the eggs were cooled and ONE WAS MISSING!!!
I searched everywhere but I only found a small piece of the poor baby that should have hatched. And it was way far from the coop! What did they do? Break it open in the coop and then drag it outside to eat?

Now I'm positive my BO's are eating their own eggs AND now I believe they have killed one of my unborn chicks. I am sooooo locking up my broody and her babies until further notice.
I put an infertile egg out in the chicken yard by itsself and only the BO's ran to it and were pecking at it, my EE's just ignored it, so I'm sure I know the culprits.

Now what do I do? I am seriously considering dinner plateing my BO's before the chicks are hatched for two reasons- 1. They are eating their own eggs despite a perfect diet I give them and 2. I think they are now gonna be chick eaters and I refuse to have that happen. Not to mention I keep chickens for their eggs and I wont feed them if they dont feed me!
I'm not heartless, I wont cull for just any reason and I understand they have time off from laying, but egg eaters and baby killers just cant be here.

Any thoughts or suggestions would be greatly appreciated!!!

 

[CoopCrazy]

Stock pot , Chicken Noodle Soup , Pot pie , need I continue? You know what to do.... Sorry bout your lil chicky

 

[rebecca10782]

I would find them a good home, if you are really thinking of killing them. They are animals, they don't know what they are doing is wrong. No animal deserves to die for something like that.

 

[Sock Puppet]

Nothing is wrong with eating your chickens. That is what they are here for

Might as well make good use of them.

 

[Katy_didnot]

Seems like a perfectly reasonable solution to me. And BO's are a duel purpose breed so they should be good eating. I couldn't put up with that either.

 

[Sunny Side Up]

Here's what I'd do:

Put your broody right back on those eggs, even though they've cooled they could still hatch. And then make a barricade with wire or something so no other hens can get to her nest. It might not have been the hens who took & ate that egg, it could have been a big rat.

Separate your BOs so they can't get to & eat anyone else's eggs. Either check on them frequently to collect their eggs so they can't eat them, or fix a nest box for them with a slanted bottom so their eggs roll out where they can't access them.

Do a search on Egg Eating, and how to remedy it without the use of broth. If these BOs are young they may be worth trying to cure of this habit before culling them.

 

[JennsPeeps]

Quote:
This will only make egg-eaters someone else's problem. You could try some of the things people attempt when trying to break egg-eaters: roll-away nesting boxes, curtains, wooden eggs, etc.

suzettex5 - you're right that the hens will probably see the chicks as walking sources of food. If the mother isn't a watchful one, the chicks will perish.