How do you stop a hen from eating her eggs ?

[ELOISEtheCHICKEN]

Someone gave me a 2 year old bantam hen and she is eating her eggs ! How do I stop her from doing that?

 

[Katy]

That's probably why they gave her away! Once they start it's a very hard habit to stop. Collecting eggs numerous times a day so they don't have as much opportunity to do it helps sometimes.

 

[tfpets]

I am sure you'll get alot of answers, I have heard you can try to put wooden eggs in the nest, others may say make sure she gets alot of oyster shell in her diet, she may be missing calcium in her diet and shes trying to add it back to her diet,
Some may say, eat her! She wont stop.
Mine have done it once or twice, the main culprit has stopped when I gave her a tub of pine shavings, oyster shell, diatamaciuous earth (sp?), and sand, and more yard toys. I think besides the calcium, the culprit, an australorp, who is a busy body, was bored. Now she commands the kiddie pool!
Tina

 

[ELOISEtheCHICKEN]

......Now she commands the kiddie pool? Your chickens swim?
She was kept in a 2 x 4 wire cage by herself, I think that is why she started eating her eggs.
She now is free ranging bird, so you would think she would stop, but she has not.
I give them calcium, so I don't think it is that.
Do you think if I lock her up again and put hot pick on wooden eggs in the box it would make her stop?

 

[tfpets]

Quote:
Silly, the pool is full of chicken stuff, not kiddies! I forgot to put that? Im a few brain cells short of a full brain - stupid past brain tumor issue.

Anyhoo - The kiddie pool has the DE, pine shavings, sand, etc....and since they have somewhere to play, and the additives are in the dust, the nest pecking and boredom seem to have reduced the Australorps "hunting" around. She was the egg hunter, now she just scratches around in the pool the most! This is a pic of my ragged little Rhode Island red in her saddle, having a moment in the "pool". It needs more pine shavings right now. Supplements helped my Australorp stop eating the eggs. Even the goats like to roll in pool.

Tina

 

[DTchickens]

known ways i've heard, and used to stop hens from eating eggs-feed her the eggs until she stops eating them, she may be missing protein or something, feed her oyster shell, or egg shell, Gran-i-grit small.. works. putting Golf balls or wooden eggs in the nest and collecting the real eggs, Let her out to free range for a week or two.. all day, possible all night.

And no, Feeding her eggs will not make her want to eat eggs more, as chickens do not look at a squashed gooey shell with yellow/clean stuff on the ground as a egg in the nest, if you want. Feed her boiled eggs, they look completely different so not as much worry.

-Daniel

 

[ELOISEtheCHICKEN]

I'll try sticking some wooden eggs in the nest and give them more oyster shell. They do eat what I put out for them now. I put out about a cup or two weekly. Maybe they need more.

 

[sellersgang]

Will a rooster eat eggs also?? A friend of mine swears his roo is doing the deed at his house

 

[scooter147]

I had a rooster who would scratch the eggs out of the nest then jump down and call his girls to show them what he discovered. Wouldn't have believed it had I not seen it a couple of times.

He became soup

 

[DTchickens]

roosters will also eat eggs