Hen eats it own eggs

[SulkyBantam]

obviously not. It's not about the calcium, or whatever. Yes she can and should try to break the habit if she can and is willing to take the risk, I'm just saying this is what can happen. Also that's a big assumption that she wants more calcium, they sometimes just do it because they figure it out and decide it's yummy. Me suggesting to cull isn't that outlandish, I'm sorry if it hurts your feelings though.

I did not mean to be rude, sorry if that's how it seemed.
It just did come across as you saying to cull her, if she ate them any more, which shocked me.... it sounds like an industry solution, not one for backyard flocks!

I have had egg eating before, usually it was cracked already, and removing the eggs quick solves it.

I'm not sure if calcium is the reason and it was not just my suggestion.... but if she really did not have enough calcium, them culling her for it would be even worse.

Anyway, no worries, I imagine OP won't cull her unless she really is a total egg-eating obsessive. (the hen not OP )

 

[docteurshepherd]

I did not mean to be rude, sorry if that's how it seemed.
It just did come across as you saying to cull her, if she ate them any more, which shocked me.... it sounds like an industry solution, not one for backyard flocks!

I have had egg eating before, usually it was cracked already, and removing the eggs quick solves it.

I'm not sure if calcium is the reason and it was not just my suggestion.... but if she really did not have enough calcium, them culling her for it would be even worse.

Anyway, no worries, I imagine OP won't cull her unless she really is a total egg-eating obsessive. (the hen not OP )

It's alright, sorry I got defensive. It just felt like you thought I was some kind of monster or something for suggesting that, when in reality it really isn't so outlandish. But yeah I did say may need to cull. I guess I just wanted OP to understand the risk of her teaching her other hens to eat the eggs as well the longer it goes on.

edit; actually makes me think that separating may not be a terrible idea?

 

[aart]

next day also leaving remains of shell alone

Was the shell you found good and hard or thin and weak?

I feed them with government sold poultry layer feed with extra crushed egg shells, spinach and kitchen scrapes as treats.I also have 20 4 month old chicks in the same place. Could it have been the young ones who had broken the eggs?

What is the protein and calcium percentages in this feed?
Probably best to cut out the kitchen scraps......and the spinach as it can inhibit calcium uptake.

 

[The Chicken Gardener]

I have 4, 1and 1/2 year old hens which are laying eggs for the last 1 year but suddenly 2 days before when i went to collect eggsi found one of the hen eating raw egg which happened the next day also leaving remains of shell alone what should I do to prevent this behaviour?

I had 2 chickens confirmed eating eggs. Not sure what started it but I’ve been trying everything. I’ve blown out eggs and filled them with mustard, 5 of my 6 birds were turned off but one of my egg eaters didn’t mind the mustard and ate it anyway. I started providing more “treats” for activities and also set alarms and collected eggs every 30 minutes. I also added a free range tray of oyster shell. Went 5 days with no egg eating and then the last 3 days they’ve eaten at least 4 eggs that I can tell. And now I have a new bird I caught eating the egg. I’m not interested in killing any birds at this point, but it does seem to be a catching behavior as others have said. If your birds are laying in nesting boxes you could try curtains. It’s supposed to help the birds forget about the eggs. Out of sight out of mind type of deal. Mine just lay all over the place! I hope you find success!!

 

[mamajos]

I put the ceramic eggs in the nest boxes-and picked up the laid eggs often. They try to eat the fake eggs, and cannot. That fixed my hen from eating eggs

 

[Krazikatlady64]

It's tough to say. From my experience they tend to eat the eggs when they are bored. Some days they don't eat them and other days they get them all. I would never cull my birds for it as they are family. Perhaps roll out egg boxes so they can't get to the eggs. The fake eggs help.

 

[The Backyard Bantams]

That sounds just so wrong. CULL her because she wants more calcium?!

Hens do naturally eat their eggs if they need. I don't like buying commercial eggs because of how wasteful it is. They cull all the males and then the females at 18 months- just because they drop by 10%

There are other options than culling. Removing the eggs quickly will help. I've even heard of glasses that block their front view. Worst case, you might just have to seperate her (with a friend) so she can live happily without spoiling all your eggs.