- Nov 3, 2011
- 11
- 0
- 22
New to chickens this year. I've got help/advice from a local who's old hat and raises various fowl.
My chickens (16) started laying about 5 weeks ago. Various new layer issues. Shell-less eggs, hen laying from her roost, hens laying in coop rather than nest, etc. My hens up till recently have been finishing off their last bag of grower. Very thin shells. (first eggs were thick though) I started them recently on layer pellets and have oyster shells nearby that they can eat whenever they want.
Early on I found a couple Americauna eggs with holes poked in the narrow tip of the egg. Then another type of egg had a hole poked in the side. I added two golf balls to each nest. Then an Americauna egg was eaten (this was in the same nest box as both shell-less eggs had been laid). I added black plastic coverings in front of their nest boxes to darken them and prevent curious hens from peeking in. Then another americauna egg was eaten in the same nest.
I read about mixing pepper in with a egg and leaving it out to put them off of eating eggs. I tried this, but by putting it back in the shell (poked a hole and drew out egg, mixed, put it back in and taped it up). I put this in the troubled nest.
I figured out which hen was the culprit. She seemed to be laying an egg, then eating whatever egg was in there (or her own if there were no other). She ate the pepper egg, so I mixed up another. Then the next time she laid, her favored nest was busy, so she used another and it already had two eggs. So she ate someone else's. So now I separate her out during the day.
I've moved the pepper egg in with her (actually, the second one was hot sauce). She ate it. I mixed up a new one this morning with pure hot sauce and lemon juice. No egg at all. SHE ATE THE WHOLE THING. She had laid in a normal nest early in the morning, so I got her egg.
Oddly, in the kennel, with her eating these nasty filled eggs, she is not eating normal food. I added snacks of some cooked meat (which the hens all love) and she hardly touched it. Same with an apple chunk. Yesterday she didn't eat her pellets through most of the day, but finished them before bedtime. Today she ate some, but not all.
When I search the kennel after letting her out, there is no sign of the nasty filled eggs. Not a speck of shell or anything.
Now I read various advice here on a couple different threads. Egg eating seems more common when they first start laying. However, hens can teach each other bad habits, so if one starts eating eggs it can spread. Twice I found "smashed" eggs from a hen who lays from her roost. However, neither of them were touched (the second was still warm, so they might not have time). Several eggs get laid in the coop, no one touches them. I'm wondering if this hen started with shell-less eggs, and learned that after laying, there is a tasty treat left behind. She's an Americauna.
So my question is two-fold. What else can I try to break her of this bad habit? Is there a serious reason for concern with the hens being so new to laying or should I just let it be for now while I wait for the shells to thicken up?
Lastly, should I mix oyster shell in with their feed, or just leave it as free choice like it is?
The hens never free range because of the risk of being eaten by other animals. We even lost two of our cats late in the Summer, so the threat is real. They do have a decent sized run, which I would like to make bigger at some point, but no matter how big the run, they will clear it out of anything interesting very quickly.
I collect the eggs about 5 times a day. Roughly every 2-3 hours (whenever I think of it). Even with that, it took me being out working on fixing the run to catch the culprit.
Brokk...
My chickens (16) started laying about 5 weeks ago. Various new layer issues. Shell-less eggs, hen laying from her roost, hens laying in coop rather than nest, etc. My hens up till recently have been finishing off their last bag of grower. Very thin shells. (first eggs were thick though) I started them recently on layer pellets and have oyster shells nearby that they can eat whenever they want.
Early on I found a couple Americauna eggs with holes poked in the narrow tip of the egg. Then another type of egg had a hole poked in the side. I added two golf balls to each nest. Then an Americauna egg was eaten (this was in the same nest box as both shell-less eggs had been laid). I added black plastic coverings in front of their nest boxes to darken them and prevent curious hens from peeking in. Then another americauna egg was eaten in the same nest.
I read about mixing pepper in with a egg and leaving it out to put them off of eating eggs. I tried this, but by putting it back in the shell (poked a hole and drew out egg, mixed, put it back in and taped it up). I put this in the troubled nest.
I figured out which hen was the culprit. She seemed to be laying an egg, then eating whatever egg was in there (or her own if there were no other). She ate the pepper egg, so I mixed up another. Then the next time she laid, her favored nest was busy, so she used another and it already had two eggs. So she ate someone else's. So now I separate her out during the day.
I've moved the pepper egg in with her (actually, the second one was hot sauce). She ate it. I mixed up a new one this morning with pure hot sauce and lemon juice. No egg at all. SHE ATE THE WHOLE THING. She had laid in a normal nest early in the morning, so I got her egg.
Oddly, in the kennel, with her eating these nasty filled eggs, she is not eating normal food. I added snacks of some cooked meat (which the hens all love) and she hardly touched it. Same with an apple chunk. Yesterday she didn't eat her pellets through most of the day, but finished them before bedtime. Today she ate some, but not all.
When I search the kennel after letting her out, there is no sign of the nasty filled eggs. Not a speck of shell or anything.
Now I read various advice here on a couple different threads. Egg eating seems more common when they first start laying. However, hens can teach each other bad habits, so if one starts eating eggs it can spread. Twice I found "smashed" eggs from a hen who lays from her roost. However, neither of them were touched (the second was still warm, so they might not have time). Several eggs get laid in the coop, no one touches them. I'm wondering if this hen started with shell-less eggs, and learned that after laying, there is a tasty treat left behind. She's an Americauna.
So my question is two-fold. What else can I try to break her of this bad habit? Is there a serious reason for concern with the hens being so new to laying or should I just let it be for now while I wait for the shells to thicken up?
Lastly, should I mix oyster shell in with their feed, or just leave it as free choice like it is?
The hens never free range because of the risk of being eaten by other animals. We even lost two of our cats late in the Summer, so the threat is real. They do have a decent sized run, which I would like to make bigger at some point, but no matter how big the run, they will clear it out of anything interesting very quickly.
I collect the eggs about 5 times a day. Roughly every 2-3 hours (whenever I think of it). Even with that, it took me being out working on fixing the run to catch the culprit.
Brokk...
