HELP! Hen ate one of her eggs!! PLEASE ADVISE!

[g67fam]

Anybody found a tried and true way to stop your hens from eating their eggs? This is the first time she's done this, but I don't want there to be a second. Thank you!

 

[dawg53]

Cull her before the others follow her lead.

 

[Chickerdoodle13]

There are lots of reasons for egg eating in chickens.

The most common is that the egg broke and it just looked tasty to her. I've found cracked eggs in nesting boxes before. It happens if they hen is bullied out of the box or forced to leave quickly. Sometimes too many eggs in a box can cause them to break as well. A broken or cracked egg will quickly attract the attention of hens.

Other reasons can include calcium deficiency. I would be sure to provide oyster shells or boiled, crushed egg shell out for the hens.

What is their lifestyle like? Are they freerange? Kept in a pen during the day? Kept only inside? They could be bored, and providing them with something to do can steer them away from eating eggs. A bit of hay or straw spread out in the pen can keep them busy for hours. TSC sells blocks of seeds for birds as well. Those are also wonderful for flocks and last an incredibly long time.

I wouldn't get too worked up over it right now. If you want to see if she's still doing it, you could separate here into a different area. If it happens again, then you could consider culling. Otherwise, you could just chock it up to a fluke and hopefully it wont happen again.

 

[g67fam]

There are lots of reasons for egg eating in chickens.

The most common is that the egg broke and it just looked tasty to her. I've found cracked eggs in nesting boxes before. It happens if they hen is bullied out of the box or forced to leave quickly. Sometimes too many eggs in a box can cause them to break as well. A broken or cracked egg will quickly attract the attention of hens.

Other reasons can include calcium deficiency. I would be sure to provide oyster shells or boiled, crushed egg shell out for the hens.

What is their lifestyle like? Are they freerange? Kept in a pen during the day? Kept only inside? They could be bored, and providing them with something to do can steer them away from eating eggs. A bit of hay or straw spread out in the pen can keep them busy for hours. TSC sells blocks of seeds for birds as well. Those are also wonderful for flocks and last an incredibly long time.

I wouldn't get too worked up over it right now. If you want to see if she's still doing it, you could separate here into a different area. If it happens again, then you could consider culling. Otherwise, you could just chock it up to a fluke and hopefully it wont happen again.

Thank you - I think it my have been just as simple as leaving her in the coop too long.

 

[Wynette]

I agree with chickerdoodle. However, I DID have a problem with one flock eating eggs several years ago, and I didn't find it necessary to dispatch any of them. If the eating continues, please PM me and I can give you some ideas on ways to eliminate it. Hope it was just a one-time thing, though.

 

[g67fam]

I agree with chickerdoodle. However, I DID have a problem with one flock eating eggs several years ago, and I didn't find it necessary to dispatch any of them. If the eating continues, please PM me and I can give you some ideas on ways to eliminate it. Hope it was just a one-time thing, though.

Thank you! That's good to hear, adn I certainly will if I have any further problems.

 

[HeatherLynn]

You can always use the easter egg or wood egg method. I had a roo that would do it. We set up a nest in one of our isolation boxes with the wood eggs. He was a very frustrated little man. Also just gather promptly, we know roughly when our will lay. My son will sit there and watch them lay and grab eggs out from under them. You can break them usually but not always. I have put one roo down that we could not break. He would go after eggs the girls had been hatching too. Not a bird worth having at that point.