hen eating eggs help please .?

[m.hubbard]

i was out just checking for eggs as iv not bin getting a regular amount
alltho thay are ungish birds (20wks) thay have bin laying just out of three birds one egg aday

and i witnessd my maran eat another hens egg she did this little dance fluffed up her wings and layed an egg as she walked and the maran was stright on it cracked it and tryed to eat it but i intervened .

how can i cure it apart from rinning her neck?


my hen house is a 8ft long 4ft wide with three hens a marn .blck cochin and a polish x dorking
feed tradish meal thay are normaly let out in the day when we are about but iv sown some grass seed next to the coop so thay only have a 6ftx4ft runat the mo .


do you think it was a one off or are thay board or just in the breed?

love some other opinons much luv.m

 

[Banana_Sundea]

This Is a case of Egg Cannibilism and is usually started when a egg that is layed and cracks and a curious hen investigates and fines a tasty surprise inside. Maybe the hens aren't getting enough nutrients and can often lead to themselves eating other chickens. Anyway it is a bad habit that others can pick up from this hen try and stop traffic flow by moving the nest boxes farther away from others and if the nest boxes are on the ground try moving them up a little so this hen can't see the eggs. If you don't have nest boxes its probable time to get some you can build your own and lay down nice clean hay at the bottom to stop the eggs from cracking and leading other hens to this bad habit.

good luck

 

[obe10]

i FEED my chickens eggs for protein (eggs are very high in protein) but i have my chickies for pets. if you have them for the eggs i would give them something else high in protein because they will only eat eggs if the need the protein.

 

[obe10]

when i go out to check for eggs i just crack them for my fowl they love them lol

 

[purpletree23]

The only answer I have is to collect the eggs frequently. Make sure you have crushed oyster shell available at all times in case she feels low in calcium and if you feel they are low in protein feed a small handful of cat food ( not dog food) every other day for a while and see if it stops. Good luck. It's a hard habit to break.

 

[Imp]

I broke mine by shaking up the coop. I rearranged everything, added bucket nests, collected frequently, added fake eggs to the nests. I think what helped is that I was on it quickly and thoroughly. Fortunately I was on vacation that first week,
Others have put curtains in front of the nests to make them dark and reduce the eggs visibility. Roll away nests, and some have claimed success with filling blown out eggs with mustard or horseradish.

Good luck.
Imp

 

[threehorses]

When you say traditional mash, you mean a laying mash yes?

The three things I'd suggest.

-First, if you're not feedling laying mash, I would. Make sure 90% of the diet is completely fortified laying mash. The rest can be grains etc. This keeps the cal/phos balance correct with the vitamin D.

-Second, if you're not feeding free-choice oyster shell, please do. Hens will sometimes start to canibalize their eggs to try to get calcium. Rather than feeding them egg shells back (which aren't as bioavailable and, I feel, encourage bad habits) feed them crushed oyster shell. I'd buy some and use the 'flour' from it in their feed this week. They should always get it, even if their egg shells are lovely. It's free choice, so it won't hurt them.

-Third, if after using the flour in their mash one day and oyster shells given free choice for two weeks you're still seeing this, and if their layer protein is 16%, I'd get the higher protein laying feed - 18% of 20% - which ever your store has.

-Fourth I agree with raising the next boxes so that hens can't see the eggs. Some people say to use darkened nest boxes for the same effect - or nest boxes that have to be entered from behind. Egg eating can be behavioral or an instinct to replace a nutritional need. I'd elimate all possibilities.

I hope this helps.