help my girls starting eating their eggs

[numbs 2016]

Hi I have 8 chickens and this is my 2 year with them the last 2 weeks I noticed they are breaking some of the eggs and eating the yolks. Is this normal and is there anyway to stop them? Please help thank you, numbs 2016

 

[chickenmeadow]

I just started collecting eggs more often. But then.... I noticed that my hens get so insistent on laying their "very special egg" in a nest where another hen already is, so they sometimes just squeeze in & try to push the other hen out; in the skuffle, eggs can get broken & a raw egg becomes so tempting to eat.

If it persists, maybe adapt your nests to "roll away egg" nests. The nest floor has a metal paint tray with green grassy looking matt of indoor/outdoor carpet glued to it (used spray on glue & trimmed away the excess carpet edges after it dried ), it's on a slant down to the capture area in front that has a hinged cover that I lift for collection. The hens don't mind it at all. My hubby built & put this extended collection piece on after seeing the idea on YouTube. The roll aways are now on 4 bottom nests (see pic below) & plan to do the same on the other upper ones; 'cause it works. Best wishes.

 

[chickengeorgeto]

Any chicken, at any time, will eat any egg that is broken, so the first and best thing to do is to make sure that your flock only lays eggs with strong and complete eggshells. The next thing is to ditch the fad chicken diets and if in doubt feed only a complete commercial chicken food that has been augmented with a good kibble dog food with some calf manna, say a teaspoon full of calf manna per hen or rooster in addition to 15 to 25% good quality kibble dog food. Don't forget about a can full of oyster shell offered free choice as well as grit. Until your egg eating problen is under control cut out the table scraps plus any and all so called treats. Treats to a chicken are little more than Methamphetamine to a human.

 

[ChickNanny13]

2x chickengeorgeto ... Up their protein in feed, most feed layer (16%), I feed Flock Raiser (20%) with Oyster Shells in a separate dish. My girls shells are nice and strong & haven't had any issues. Treats, I've learned isn't so great, they off set the nutrition in their feed, I've stopped feeding "treats".

Are you sure they're all eating or maybe just one? You may need to collect eggs more often, or make your nest boxes so the eggs roll to safety. Where are the eggs breaking, in the nest boxes? I had a girl lay an egg as she was walking, that sure perked everyones interest, she had just started laying.

 

[RWise]

What exactly are all y'all referring to when you say "treats"?
Table scraps the dogs wont eat go to the girls, as do egg shells (dogs dont like them), and I only toss out a bit of whole corn each evening as I gather eggs.
I currently have 2 Delawares pullets that are doing thin shells, I have then on a higher protein diet with eggshell and oyster-shell. When the egg breaks they will clean the nest up, else the rooster tells them to. Odd thing to me is they both started out making good shells,,,,it will pass,,,

 

[theoldchick]

If your hens are consistently laying thin-shelled eggs despite having a good quality diet of commercial laying pellets supplemented with limited treats, your gals might be having issues with their reproductive tract i.e. the shell gland ain't working right. Sometimes this happens due to age. Sometimes this happens due to viral or bacterial infection.

Some folks cull egg-eating hens. Some folks invest in roll-away nest boxes that prevent birds from getting to the eggs.

So, my recommendation would be to improve the diet with proven commercial feed. Remember more calcium may not be the answer especially if you are not providing other minerals at the proper ratio. All those extra minerals flooding the system can make those little kidneys do some strange things like freaking out and calling to the liver to help out which makes the liver go in panic mode and start to fail. Then the kidneys start to fail. This a very simplified version of feeding the wrong thing too long may cause even more problems.

Good luck!

 

[igorsMistress]

We have 9 chickens and they all want to lay in the same 3 places. An egg gets broken once in a while. The girls eat it, all is well.

You can increase protein by feeding chick starter or an all flock type feed. Canned salmon, cooked hamburger and hard boiled or raw eggs are good too, but don't over do it.

Our girls seemed to slow down a bit, but they're ramping up now. Maybe yours are doing the same. Their little bodies do need a break.

 

[chickens really]

Hi I have 8 chickens and this is my 2 year with them the last 2 weeks I noticed they are breaking some of the eggs and eating the yolks. Is this normal and is there anyway to stop them? Please help thank you, numbs 2016

Hello, collect your eggs more often..Egg eating can be caused from inadequate diet, need higher protein feed?..Darken the Coop and nest boxes with curtains..
Best wishes..It's a habit you need to stop...

 

[numbs 2016]

I just started collecting eggs more often. But then.... I noticed that my hens get so insistent on laying their "very special egg" in a nest where another hen already is, so they sometimes just squeeze in & try to push the other hen out; in the skuffle, eggs can get broken & a raw egg becomes so tempting to eat.

If it persists, maybe adapt your nests to "roll away egg" nests. The nest floor has a metal paint tray with green grassy looking matt of indoor/outdoor carpet glued to it (used spray on glue & trimmed away the excess carpet edges after it dried ), it's on a slant down to the capture area in front that has a hinged cover that I lift for collection. The hens don't mind it at all. My hubby built & put this extended collection piece on after seeing the idea on YouTube. The roll aways are now on 4 bottom nests (see pic below) & plan to do the same on the other upper ones; 'cause it works. Best wishes.View attachment 1290262

Thank you I will try this

 

[numbs 2016]

2x chickengeorgeto ... Up their protein in feed, most feed layer (16%), I feed Flock Raiser (20%) with Oyster Shells in a separate dish. My girls shells are nice and strong & haven't had any issues. Treats, I've learned isn't so great, they off set the nutrition in their feed, I've stopped feeding "treats".

Are you sure they're all eating or maybe just one? You may need to collect eggs more often, or make your nest boxes so the eggs roll to safety. Where are the eggs breaking, in the nest boxes? I had a girl lay an egg as she was walking, that sure perked everyones interest, she had just started laying.

I am not sure which girl is eating them. I

2x chickengeorgeto ... Up their protein in feed, most feed layer (16%), I feed Flock Raiser (20%) with Oyster Shells in a separate dish. My girls shells are nice and strong & haven't had any issues. Treats, I've learned isn't so great, they off set the nutrition in their feed, I've stopped feeding "treats".

Are you sure they're all eating or maybe just one? You may need to collect eggs more often, or make your nest boxes so the eggs roll to safety. Where are the eggs breaking, in the nest boxes? I had a girl lay an egg as she was walking, that sure perked everyones interest, she had just started laying.

Hi I am not sure who is breaking and eating I have had 2 eggs in each box and 1 was broke in half and the yolk was gone and the other egg was left alone. I will try to check more often and I will also try the roll away nest boxes. Thank everyone for their help