*I found the culprit!!!*

[Tripp16]

I found who has been eating my eggs!! My little EE she is 2nd to the lowest on the pecking order and she hardly ever lays (she lays blue eggs) I have only gotten one egg from her in the month the girls have been laying!

I caught her because I went out to my girls pen and here she comes out of the hen house with her beard COVERED in egg yolk!

Looking innocent as can be!

I looked up into the nest area and there was the wet place where the egg once was..... she had eaten the shell and everything!

Any advice?? Should I lock her up during the times where the girls lay the most??

Any advice is greatly appreciated!

 

[Tres Amigas]

My girls will eat the occasional broken soft shelled/shell less egg (usually "oops" eggs found under the roost in the a.m.) I think that's pretty normal. If, however, you've got a hen who has developed a taste for eggs, you might consider culling. It's one thing when it's "Hey - lookee here, let's eat it" and another thing if she's actively seeking out and eating good eggs in the nestbox. This may be why you've only gotten 1 egg from her in the past month. She may have missed that one. She's probably laying and eating them warm from her bum! Seriously, I have often read on BYC that an egg eating hen not only is very hard to rehabilitate, but will also teach her sisters the wonders of freshly laid eggs. If that happens, you won't get any eggs at all. An option to culling would be trying a roll-away nest box, so she can't get to them. Depending if/how much meat protein they get, you might try adding some or upping the amount. It may be that she's compelled to eat them because she feels the need for additional protein. Good luck!

 

[TinyChickenLady]

Here's a tip I've seen around here a few times...
Blow out an egg and fill it with mustard then leave it for her to eat. Hens hate the taste of mustard and this will usually put an end to her egg eating.
If that doesn't work then I'm afraid Tres Amigas might be right and culling is your only available option.
I'd try the mustard trick first though. No sense culling if you can rahabilitate

Good luck!

 

[Tripp16]

Thanks! Ill see if she does it again tomorrow and if she does Ill try the egg trick with all of them!!

 

[polecatsfan]

One of my girls started this.... i managed to stop her by grabbing any egg i saw (or heard being layed), a replacing it with a porcelain one, in the end (after about 4-5 days) she gave up, and doesnt do it anymore

always worth a go