HELP! My chickens are pecking their own eggs

[Lolly]

Hi -

I am new to this wonderful forum. We have 6 chickens and they have started to peck their own eggs. At first I think it was just one but now it may be 1 or 2 more, we have tried isolating them one at a time. I have tried: 1) giving them oyster shells everyday 2) fresh water everyday 3) golf balls in their nests. I have read on this forum to try puppy chow, so I am going to buy some today. Any other ideas?? We were getting 4 to 6 eggs a day and now we are down to 2 and 3 pecked ones.

Please help

 

[flock-mama]

I collect my eggs several times a day, just to see what they are doing and all. My chickens usually are done laying by 1pm. If eggs are left too long, some chickens can get courious and peck. I have read you can clip the beaks, but I have never gone that far. just keep checking, sneak up on them to see if you can catch who is doing damage. Also my chickens love cat food too, high in vitamins etc.

 

[peapatch]

I had that problem and read a post here that one lady put up a curtain in her laying boxes, well I tried it and it works, give a try maybe it will work for you.

 

[bkymnro]

When my hens first started laying, some of the ones who were not laying began to peck and eat eggs. Puppy chow worked for me. I read it on here saying that they needed more protein. Try it!

 

[unionwirewoman]

I have tried everything from laying cardboard in the nest to golf balls . Nothing worked . Seperate them one at a time until you find the culprit , then say goodbye . I am in the process of doing this , but when you have 18....it takes awhile . Once they have learned to eat eggs they will continue to do it and teach it to others . This is the advice my 92 yr old grandmother gave to me who has lived on a farm her whole life . Another option she told me was to trim their beaks .

Edited to add that lack of protien will not always affect them eating eggs . You can try it as a last ditch effort , but you'll probably be wasting money if you don't have a dog .