Help! My 17 week old BO laid her 1st egg and they all were EATING it!!

[ShannonR]

I have been giving them apple cider vinegar and crushed egg shells.

I will keep an eye on her, today she seemed to be doing better, but it's cloudy/rainy today so it may be weather related?

Maybe back off on the ACV a little bit

 

[Mourgana]

You need to 'train' them, best to do that before they start laying Bad habit should have be nipped the minute it starts happening. But, no time like the present to start.
Are roosts higher than nests?
Pics of coop inside showing nests and roosts would be most helpful here.

I tried to get them to be on the roosting bars instead of the nest boxes when I 1st put the chicks in the henhouse, but they broke down the barrier I put up, and all crowded into one corner of it so I gave up and just let them do it. But I did remove them from the hen house and put them in my garden for a couple of weeks ,then took them out of my garden and put them back into the hen house. I will take and post pictures of the co-op when I get home!

 

[Mourgana]

Maybe back off on the ACV a little bit

I just started giving them the ACV this week when I noticed the shellish egg and the hen with the mucus/mouth hanging open.

 

[aart]

Is it hot there?
ACV can inhibit calcium up take...and no reason to give it anyway.

 

[ChickNanny13]

How big is your PreFab?
Did it say "big enough for 4 - 6"?
You have a total of 6/17+wk old BOs, any others?

 

[Mourgana]

Is it hot there?
ACV can inhibit calcium up take...and no reason to give it anyway.

It's been in the 60s to 7os

 

[Mourgana]

How big is your PreFab?
Did it say "big enough for 4 - 6"?
You have a total of 6/17+wk old BOs, any others?

No other birds, said it could house up to 12 birds.
Here is some pics of the coop and inside!

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Totally off topic, but.... the OP said something about treating the coop for bed bugs? Is this a thing for chickens? Wildly curious.

Back on topic now... the shell-less egg is fairly normal in youngsters, so is their eating such eggs. What doesn't sound normal is the fluid coming from that chicken, could be a sign of a bigger issue.

Yes, bedbugs are a thing for chickens. I've even bedbugs mentioned in old poultry books published in the 1800s
http://extension.msstate.edu/publications/information-sheets/what-do-about-bed-bugs-poultry-houses
https://thepoultrysite.com/articles/bed-bugs-difficult-pests-to-control-in-poultry-breeder-flocks
http://www.poultrydvm.com/condition/bedbugs

 

[Mourgana]

I am using a pre-built chicken coop. The roosting bars are fixated so I cannot change where they roost.
Although there is a roosting bar outside of the hen house that they all like to use, but cannot all fit on.
So 4 roost outside, and 2 inside.
I have to move them at night to make sure that they are safe from predators.

 

[ShannonR]

Yes, bedbugs are a thing for chickens. I've even bedbugs mentioned in old poultry books published in the 1800s
http://extension.msstate.edu/publications/information-sheets/what-do-about-bed-bugs-poultry-houses
https://thepoultrysite.com/articles/bed-bugs-difficult-pests-to-control-in-poultry-breeder-flocks
http://www.poultrydvm.com/condition/bedbugs

Awesome, thank you for the info! I hadn't heard of that one until today.