Hen eating eggs, please help.

[Imp]

It has also been suggested that filling the blown out egg with liquid soap. And recently someone had success with using "Apple Bitter?" (the stuff that keeps dogs from chewing) on and in eggs.

Making the nests as dark as possible. Some putting "curtains" in front of them.

A few years ago I broke my egg eaters by rearranging things in the coop, I think I shook things up a bit.

Good luck,

Imp

 

[chicklover16]

thanks guys! I tried blowing out the egg and filling it with mustard. I think it worked! she hasn't eaten eggs since!

p.s. imp, you have a LOT of awards!

 

[P'Fowls]

Egg eaters can be fixed. If they are breaking the eggs & eating eggs they are lacking calcium. Give them another small feeder or box with pyster shells in it. Oyster shells will give them calcium. They will only eat what they need. I have done this in the past and it works. I never suggest something that I havent tried and saw work. Sometimes when we cook eggs for breakfast I will wash the rest of the yolks and clear out of the shells and break them up and throw them into our pens. Its the same thing as using oyster shells. I never have a problem with them eating eggs.

 

[WhiteMountainsRanch]

My chickens have Oyster Shell, layer feed, chick starter (for extra protein) dark covered boxes, fake eggs, and they STILL eat their eggs.

Nothing worked until I did the roll-a-way nestbox.

 

[P'Fowls]

Hmmm, I dont know why yours still eat them. I have heard that some birds just are egg eaters. But everyone I have saw around here and my customers all stopped after getting more calcium in their diet. That may be true after all that some just eat them. Maybe they all cant be fixed. I have never had a problem with egg eaters. What Brand of food are you feeding?

 

[GhostRider65]

I had 1 and did some research and found that sometimes its a nutritional deficiency... lacking in Vitamin D, and A.. I cook the girls egg shells they eat it better for calcium but oyster is always available as well, try to find a different company for food maybe this one is lacking something?
I was using dumor...from TSC. I switched to our feed mill brand.. also gave them childrens complete natural vitamins, and a vitamin D and a supplement.....so far so good....

 

[P'Fowls]

The food is what I was thinking. Thats why Iask about the brand being fed. I use Flint River Mills and love it.

 

[mstricer]

hey, I heard that you can break open an egg and put pepper in it to make the chickens not like the taste of it? has anyone ever heard of this?

I give mine cayenne pepper to help them start to lay. I heard they can't taste the hot. Mine don't react to it any different.

 

[1muttsfan]

I has one bad egg eater that I finally had to cull - she would lurk around the laying boxes and wait until someone layed, then hop in and help herself.

Here is a link to Opa's roll out boxes

https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/rollout-nests

 

[theoldchick]

I have egg eaters too and have tried everything in the book. I really didn't want to cull my hens so I tried everything. Nothing worked until I built a "roll-a-way" nest box where the egg rolls out of reach of the hen. You do have to train them to use it though because there is no hay or anything in it. It does need "fake grass" or shelf liner though, I haven't added that part yet.

Super cool idea!