Hens eating eggs

[mamadukes1]

Hey guys, Happy New Year's to all !!! I have a question. I have 13 hens and at least 6 of them are laying, however, one of the chickens and I do not know which one is laying an egg and then eating it and yesterday it looked like it had eaten 2 eggs. How can I correct this or stop it and why do they do this? Thank you in advance for your help.

 

[Silo]

Do they have access to oyster shells in the coop?

 

[Hholly]

They may need more protein. I think you have to try to collect the eggs more often too. Not sure, but those fake ceramic eggs might help discourage them if they peck at them. Good luck!

 

[mamadukes1]

Im am feed ing them Purina Layena Omega 3 feed with following ingredients: Crude Protein (min.) 16.0%, Lysine (min.) 0.70%, Methionine (min.) 0.30%, Crude Fat (min.) 3.25%, Crude Fiber, (max.) 6.0%, Calcium (min.) 3.60%, Calcium (max.) 4.60%, Phosphorus (min.) 0.59%, Salt (NaCl), (min.) 0.20%, Salt (NaCl), (max.) 0.70%, Sodium (Na), (min.) 0.10%, Sodium (Na), (max.) 0.60%, Manganese (min.) 160 ppm, Omega-3 Fatty Acids (min.) 1.10%, Ash (max.) 14.50%. They also have daily snacks of fresh vegi's and fruit.

 

[Hholly]

Sometimes if they've been molting or something, they may require more protein. You can add some flock raiser or gamebird feed for a while to help them out.
Here's a good article on the subject.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/six-tips-on-breaking-your-egg-eater

 

[enola]

Does this feed have any animal protein?

My hens do not do well on feeds that are designed around a vegetarian diet.

 

[aart]

16% Layer and fruits and veggies has diluted the protein.

I'd up the protein, get some fake eggs and gather eggs frequently.

Read a neat trick that worked well for someone.
They rolled a fake egg out onto the ground/floor, the egg eater went at it all out.
They isolated that bird and the problem went away.

 

[enola]

Roll away nest help, also.

 

[Westfordchix]

I'm a first year chicken owner, and as they began laying eggs I encountered two problems:

1) Eggs being laid on the ground under the coop,
2) Eggs in the nesting box being pecked at (sometimes eaten, sometimes not).

In response I built a roll out nest. I built it so that the eggs roll out the back of the nest, which I access through a hatch that I cut in the side of the coop. This saved me from having to open the coop door and reach into the coop to retrieve the eggs.

The second thing that I did was to purchase 6 wooden eggs. I put these in the roll out nest (the chickens can still see the eggs and stretch their necks into the egg holding area). Within 2 days all 8 hens committed to laying in the nesting boxes, and the egg pecking stopped almost as quickly. I think seeing the cache of eggs (2 in each of the 3 nests) gave them the sense that the nest was the place to do their business. And after a few days of pecking at eggs that wouldn't break, they stopped that behavior as well.

I now how clean unbroken eggs, any my access to them couldn't be easier.

 

[mamadukes1]

No but I am getting some this weekend to add into their diet.