how to stop chickens from eating the eggs!

[Vicky2479]

Sounds like you are on to something there maybe you can find a food that is grain based instead, I don't know the brands you have in the US, but the company I get my feed from do several different types, the one with the pellets has the added meat protein so I get the grain one, it is a complete laying feed and the hens love it, I go out first thing and throw them thier breakfast then again in the late afternoon. I also give them kitchen scraps at some point too.
Hope you can find something suitable for your fussy hens and start getting some useable eggs.

 

[7L Farm]

Your saying their hungry.I would provide them with laying pellets 24/7. All my birds have feed provided 24/7. 365 days a year. I would also give them some greens in their diet along with the laying pellets.

 

[bairo]

Agreed with above. You need to have feed out there free choice and make certain it is filled before they come off the roost. Kitchen scraps and such is fine for a treat, but dont over do it with that or scratch. They get used to knowing they are going to get it and slow down on the complete feed. They then become deficient in certain vits/minerals/ protein and go after the eggs.

I do give mine some scraps and scratch....but never on an exact schedule and not every day. Many people see that certain hens may get all the treats and certain ones get none....so they throw more out. Dont fall into that trap!!! There is a pecking order and that is just the way it is. Throw out a very small amount and let the hens work out the details. I strongly suspect with them pooping on the eggs that they are getting too many treats and this is causing them to poop that much. A normally fed chicken should poop 75% of what they are going to while on the roost at night. If pooping that much during the day, then it is almost certain they are over eating treats.

 

[MaureenC]

No more pecked eggs since hubby's been taking the treats to them in the AM!

They have a full feeder 24/7 - not sure how I communicated otherwise, sorry.

When I said they're hungry, I just meant hungry for something tastier/more interesting than crumble... More like bored with crumble than hungry I guess. They always have grit & oyster shell also.

Our reason for getting chickens was to be more "green" and recycle our food waste / kitchen scraps / expired produce etc. If that means washing off poopy eggs, oh well...

They definitely do most of their pooping at night (except for the broodies - yuck) They aren't normally pooping huge quantities on the eggs, just a good yucky smearing.

Hoping the poopy egg problem will resolve itself as they mature.

The shell-less egg girl is now laying eggs with a soft squishy membrane, so I guess she is making progress.

At least we seem to have found the answer to the egg pecking... Thanks again for all the advice everyone!

 

[JadeRahl]

Thanks for the speedy replies everybody! I really appreciate you all so much.

I do check for eggs multiple times a day (I work at home, so I visit them & take out treats) but I have rollaway nest boxes, and as soon as they lay, the girls keep the egg from rolling down and peck it open.

So when I stick my hand in to check the rollaway chute, I pull out a gooey sticky mess of broken eggshells and poop. yuck.

How do you keep them from pooping in there? They never roost in there so that's not the issue...

They don't eat the whole egg - just as much as possible before it rolls away from them.

The shells are all very hard - and they have all the oyster shell they want... As far as protein they are on Del's layer - maybe I should switch to different food? I will go tomorrow and get something else.

Can't free range them because our soil is arsenic contaminated (Tacoma Asarco Smelter) I do give them lots of greens grown in my raised beds though, and scrap veggies, etc.

Unfortunately I suspect it is not just one bird but rather all of them who are egg eating.

I coaxed a broody out of the nest box to drink the other day, and she came out COVERED in poop and broken egg shells - and she was so sticky that 2 eggs were stuck to her feathers (gross) and so she could hardly walk. All the other birds DOVE for those eggs stuck to her IMMEDIATELY and started pecking at them like it was their favorite treat.

Is it normal for a broody to sit in the box pooping and eating eggs?

My broodies also gets really sticky because one girl still occasionally lays a shell-less egg and squirts it all over the broody. (often 2 girls go in the box at a time) So whoever is broody is always matted with poop and egg, with shells stuck all over her - it's a complete stinky, sticky mess.

Maybe they got the taste for egg from the girl who lays the shell-less eggs? (I can't figure out who it is though!) She still does it once a week or so.

They have 2x more run and coop space than recommended so I don't think it's overcrowding. (6 birds in a 16x4' run, coop is 4x8, 8' long roost) And 2 nest boxes. They lay equally between the 2 boxes, and peck open equally in both boxes.

If they are doing these behaviors because they can't free range, then I guess there is no point in trying again with another batch... I'm so so sad!

Thanks for your encouragement & advice everyone! Maybe switching to a different food will help... I'll keep you all updated!

I live in Tacoma also but free range my hens in the yard. Have you had then come test for arsenic? They do it for free. Ours tested negative

 

[appps]

Do you think its them all pooping in the nests or maybe just the ine shell less egg layer? It sounds quite gross and I'm interested why your nests would end up such a mess as we have never had a dirty egg. Wondered if maybe you have one hen where neither eggs nor poop are working properly.

Is that a common problem with the type of nest box maybe? I'm guessing for the eggs to roll you can't have straw in them etc?

 

[EwBrosMom]

If you decide to start over with new birds one way try and prevent them from pooping on the eggs is to keep the nest boxes closed off until they are old enough to start laying. Don't them loiter or sleep in the nest boxes before they start laying because they'll get into the habit of using it for a bathroom.

 

[citychikinranch]

Another important thing if you are thinking of culling the offender and you think you have figured out who the culprit is, you have to get them quick...other chickens watch and learn.

 

[appps]

This thread is from 2012 guys. I'm guessing problem has been sorted one way or another by now.

 

[citychikinranch]

Sorry, I guess I should check the date and didnt realize it was a poster problem specific. I was thinking maybe other people who currently have this problem might read this thread. I know I read older threads if they have helpful suggestion. In fact I read lots of threads before registering.