Hen eating eggs

[pennynorsworthy]

our hens are 2 yr old white leggings. We keep them in a fenced yard with house. How do we identify which hen is eating the eggs, so we can take care of this problem? They are all white. Lol

 

[Pork Pie]

Hi, I see that you have posted on new members introductions before. I'd suggest posting your question on this forum - https://www.backyardchickens.com/forums/managing-your-flock.2/

 

[debid]

A couple thoughts... 1) If you haven't witnessed it, how are you sure it's a hen doing this? Lots of predators love eggs so unless you have an extremely secure coop, it may be a critter problem rather than a behavioral issue. 2) Do the remnants contain solid shell pieces? Hens laying soft or thin-shelled eggs can result in a broken egg -- ANY hen will eat a broken egg, it's how they recycle. 3)
If you are positive it's a hen and she's breaking normal eggs, look at your management practices. Can you switch to roll-away boxes? Put in a lot of time observing one day to catch her in the act? Are they getting good quality feed in a quantity great enough for their high volume laying? (Might need more than 16% protein)

 

[Kiki]

What do you feed them?

 

[drumstick diva]

How often do you check for eggs? If you leave them too long, they are targets for egg eating

 

[N F C]

Hi, Pork Pie Ken has given you a good place to get some answers (in addition to the ones you get here)!

 

[ronott1]

Welcome to Backyard Chickens!

Egg eating is the result of:

Soft shells--Chickens are opportunistic eaters--They will eat the egg if it breaks
Predators--like Blue Jays

The soft shells can be a nutrition issue or a parasite issue. You should work on both.

Do not kill your hens because of this. There is very rarely an egg eating hen