How to identify an egg-eating chicken?

[Chicken.Lytle]

Do I have an egg eater? Probably.

My production is down. I found a sticky spot (not poo) in the nest box last month. I saw a sticky spot (not poo) under the roost this month.

Yesterday, one of the hens went into the nest box and pecked at the (dry, formerly sticky) bottom of the nest for ten minutes. I put a yellow zip tie on her leg so I could keep track.

Need advice! How do I find the culprit? Any other signs to look for?

 

[88Haywood88]

what i do is i take out all eggs, wait for another to be laid and watch to see who goes in immeadiatly after. you have to catch them in the act. this probably didn't help, but its the only way i know.

 

[TrystInn]

Glad you asked, I'm dealing with the same nonsense here. I'm fairly sure of who it isn't (i.e. not the Rhodies, Andalusian, Marans or Cochin) and suspicious of the Wyandottes and EEer.

Does anyone know if hens eat their own eggs or only the eggs of other hens?

 

[Chicken.Lytle]

Yes, I do have a wicked egg-eating chicken.

Has anybody successfully stopped this behavior without culling?

 

[Wolfwoman]

Chicken.Lytle :

Yes, I do have a wicked egg-eating chicken.

Has anybody successfully stopped this behavior without culling?

Yes but I have 2 coops. For a week I gave them extra scratch morning and night, upped their protein and at the beginning of the following week I took 3 hens from one coop and switched them with 3 in the other, the following day I did two more from each. It stopped DEAD.​

 

[lilchick]

To find the perp. look for hen with yolk on her face! Seriously just place an egg on the ground and watch to see which hens go for it.

Once an egg is broken most hens will be attracted to it. So watch for the ones who actually know how to break it open...

I used nest boxes with a roll down tray so they had no way of getting to the eggs.

 

[Hixnstix]

Quote:
Yes but I have 2 coops. For a week I gave them extra scratch morning and night, upped their protein and at the beginning of the following week I took 3 hens from one coop and switched them with 3 in the other, the following day I did two more from each. It stopped DEAD.

Just call me slow......why do you think this solved your problem?

 

[Wolfwoman]

Because they stopped eating eggs?

They are saying they need extra protein when they are eating eggs, or that they are bored. I addressed both those problems by adding protien and putting some of them in a new environment. The result, no more goopy messes and I have more eggs for me.

 

[birdbrain5]

lilchick, you got to post pics of that nest box, neat idea i just cant picture it really, but id love to see how you made it

 

[lilchick]

They are the old metal nest boxes with a covered pull out tray.

Tray is sloped so when they lay an egg it rolls right down into front of tray out of the hens reach.