Help - Caught chickens eating own egg

[Fred's Hens]

You're gonna have to try the roll away nests. Once they take on this habit, it is hard to break and culling is often the only other recourse. The roll away nests will prevent having to cull and may break their habit. If protein and calcium levels are adequate in your feed, the eating is a habit, not one of necessity for nutrition.

 

[GoDawgs]

I keep a cup of crushed oyster shell out at all times, but I have also only had these hens for four days, so perhaps their previous owner didn't make sure they had enough calcium. I plan to put out some egg mixed with pepper as well as a bowl of milk, which I have read can help. I may also fill an eggshell with mustard. I'm pretty much trying every idea I've read all at once and will see what happens.

 

[Judy]

They don't have taste receptors for capsaicin so will have no trouble eating hot peppers or hot sauce. Mustard may be another matter, though.

 

[GoDawgs]

So I filled two eggshells with mustard and placed them in the coop. Then after more googling, I read some say that it doesn't work, and others even say that their chicken really like the mustard. Out to the coop I went and took out the mustard filled eggs.

I did leave a small bowl of egg mixed with a ton of pepper. I also placed one plastic egg in each nesting box - will they be fooled since the eggs are neon colored ones from my son's Easter basket?

The chicken treat ball filled with lettuce and the forage cake are also now in there, as is a bowl of milk.

I also got a stick to reach the egg shell from the 2nd eaten egg. It turns out that this one did have a soft shell. However, they also ate another egg that was laid no more than 2 hours before this one, so I either have 2 soft shell laying hens, or the hens are also eating regular eggs.

These are my first chickens and my entire reason for getting them was for eggs for our family. I would hate for them to become chicken soup.

 

[tiffanya]

We had the same thing happen. One day a hen thought it would be a good idea to lay in the run and then of course others followed. Then they started eating the eggs layed in the run. We put golf balls in their nesting boxed to encourage them to lay there. It worked and we've had no problem with egg eating since!

 

[LizzyJo]

I figure that any eggs that aren't in the nest box are chicken food. So if they find one in the run or under the perches b4 I do, they can have it. Once in a blue moon they will eat one in the nest box, I never have figured out why.