Hen Eating Her Own Soft Shelled Eggs

[Cmacc]

Hello all. I discovered that one of my hens is eating her own eggs. This has been going on for less than a week, though details are a bit hazy as friends were visiting and kids were collecting eggs. I believe it started with a soft shelled egg that became broken in nesting box.

Today I heard the egg song and went to grab the egg ASAP in order to catch the culprit and I discovered an egg that was soft shelled on top, broken, and being eaten.

I began to put out oyster shell and an electrolyte in water as it’s been hot here the past few days.

Has anyone had this scenario happen to them? Is she only eating the egg bc her eggs are soft? How long after oyster supplements are given until eggs potentially harden?

I’ve done some research. Nesting boxes are good and dark, there is ample space in tin and they free range quite a bit each day. I can’t think of immediate stress, other than a fox coming around a few weeks ago, but she has seemed just fine immediately after.

Appreciate your thoughts. I know to collect eggs right away, but we will be traveling for a week and someone will be coming every other day to collect eggs, feed and water, etc. Thanks in advance for ideas and suggestions.

 

[Fishsticks06]

Hello all. I discovered that one of my hens is eating her own eggs. This has been going on for less than a week, though details are a bit hazy as friends were visiting and kids were collecting eggs. I believe it started with a soft shelled egg that became broken in nesting box.

Today I heard the egg song and went to grab the egg ASAP in order to catch the culprit and I discovered an egg that was soft shelled on top, broken, and being eaten.

I began to put out oyster shell and an electrolyte in water as it’s been hot here the past few days.

Has anyone had this scenario happen to them? Is she only eating the egg bc her eggs are soft? How long after oyster supplements are given until eggs potentially harden?

I’ve done some research. Nesting boxes are good and dark, there is ample space in tin and they free range quite a bit each day. I can’t think of immediate stress, other than a fox coming around a few weeks ago, but she has seemed just fine immediately after.

Appreciate your thoughts. I know to collect eggs right away, but we will be traveling for a week and someone will be coming every other day to collect eggs, feed and water, etc. Thanks in advance for ideas and suggestions.

Hello, funny situation you have. If a chicken ever tastes an egg, they thing it’s yummy. A friend of mine had chickens who would break open their eggs as soon as they were laid. Oyster shells and electrolytes should be given occasionally. If it’s soft shell, maybe it’s instinct to eat weak eggs. But I’m not nearly as experienced as other people, but these are just my speculations. Hope this helped!

 

[TooCheep]

My first thought is calcium deficiency. The oyster shell is generally the proper solution. Are you offering it on the side or mixed into the food? It should be available all the time and on the side only. Laying hens will eat the extra calcium when they feel the need. They supply calcium for egg shells from their own bodies and know when they need more.

If you are lucky, she will recover quickly and egg eating will not become a habit. Good luck.

 

[aart]

I began to put out oyster shell and an electrolyte in water as it’s been hot here the past few days.

Has anyone had this scenario happen to them? Is she only eating the egg bc her eggs are soft? How long after oyster supplements are given until eggs potentially harden?

Yes, probably only eating the eggs because they are easily broken, they are fair game IMO.

Only give electrolytes about once a week, not continuously,
and always have fresh plain water available at the same time.

Hard do say how long a calcium supplement takes to work....they don't always work, depends on why the shells are soft. Can be because of stress(many sources for this, but crowding is the first and maybe those kids were over 'involved'?), lack of calcium, lack of other nutrients needed to uptake and apply the calcium, wonky shell gland, etc.