I have an egg eater.

[Duckfarmer1]

My flock used to be a bunch of egg eaters, one of the hens just couldn't put a shell on for the life of her. So of course the flock learned that brunch was being served everytime this hen went in to lay.

I did a few things to remedy this bad habit. First, keep fake eggs in the nest boxes at all times. At first the egg eaters will rush in to eat them and find that most eggs are impenetrable. After playing with them, the birds become discouraged.

Next, curtains. Hang curtains over the front of the boxes, leaving just a slit in the middle for the hen to slip in. This does a few things...it stops hens on the outside from cruising for eggs, it keeps the inside of the box dark so the hen laying them doesn't start eating her own egg and the darken box creates a peaceful relaxing place for the hens.

Collect eggs VERY often during the beginnings of this process. You only want to leave those fake eggs around at first so the birds learn to give up on this bad habit.

I don't remember the exact time frame it took to stop the egg eating, but a couple weeks later, eggs were not being dined on ever again, even THOUGH the original hen still laid only a yolk. View attachment 1999936 View attachment 1999941

I put oval shaped rocks in from our landscaping to see how it would go..been pretty good..except they burry them in the nesting materials, and I forget to look for them. Plus, my boxes aren’t like that at all. They open from the outside with a VERY heavy lid made from a truck tailgate....he cut it into two pieces, and detailed the edges to look aged...my hubby rebuilds cars for fun.... ugh, its very dark it there, so privacy is not an issue...and he built each side up high for more privacy, with a walkway in the front....they like it in there...they set a long time....but..now we just bought more pullets...we will now have 35 hens...we have 8 nest boxes...they use two nest boxes. I said we need to build more with that many girls, but my hubby says no because they never use the other ones

 

[Shadrach]

Most of the hens here have and will eat eggs.
Depending on the time of year and depending on whether I want eggs for cooking governs whether or not I collect any eggs. I take what I need and leave the rest.
Yup, this can cause problems.
Some eggs get eaten here because they got cracked in the nest boxes; better nest boxes helps to cure this.
Some get eaten by hens who it seems only want their eggs in the nest because they are planning to sit and breaking the other hens eggs seems to encourage the other hens to find somewhere else to lay.
Some get deliberately cracked and eaten while the hen is sitting. They seem to know that some eggs are not going to develop. Many will say that's nonsense. But, I've watched hens push eggs to the outside of the clutch and not drag them back. I've marked such eggs. Some of these rejected eggs get eaten by the sitting hen. I've checked a few over the years and none that go rejected were fertile.
How carefully have I observed such behaviours? This carefully.
This is a good nest with regard to the eggs not getting broken and staying in contact with each other. It's an outside nest

This a rejected egg being eaten. There is a dead partially formed chick in it.

This is one way they get cracked.

How may times have I observed and confirmed such observations? It must be hundreds now.
When all is said and done, if a hen is eating eggs it's a human management problem and in most cases, not the hens. Better to sort out the management problems than kill a laying hen imo.

 

[Marinefam2053]

I have at least one egg eater. Problem is: not really sure who it is! She does it at night. I check for eggs several times a day. I am only getting one egg from 8 hens. The hens are almost a year old....And they have just gone through a hard molt. They get 18% layer feed mixed with calcium, scratch and sunflower seeds. They also are out side most of the day in the garden. I have noticed that one or two hens poop as big as an egg at night, if that means anything?
I was thinking they may be a little overcrowded, so I put two more nest boxes in small coop. That is where the hens sleep and lay primarily. There is a very large coop that the small coop is inside of, and they are let out daily to the garden area. Any ideas? How do I stop them from laying at night? Is that normal?? Thinking not....If I could get them to lay in daytime, I could pick up eggs soon as they lay them....

I’m no expert, but I’m unsure if you mean they sleep and lay in the nest boxes? Just want to clarify, cause that could be a problem. Also, instead of mixing your calcium in with your feed, provide that in a separate area. Scratch also shouldn’t be mixed in with feed. Spread that stuff on the ground as well as the sunflower seeds. My girls get their feed in a completely separate location from their oyster shells. That way they get what they need however they need it, on top of being able to free range. As for laying at night, is there a light on in your coop? I am one to check the nest boxes after mine are on the roost for the night. It’s usually pretty dark and I’m doing a coop lockup. But I make it a habit to check one last time when locking everyone up. Good luck, and I hope that you figure this out.

 

[jolenesdad]

Most of the hens here have and will eat eggs.
Depending on the time of year and depending on whether I want eggs for cooking governs whether or not I collect any eggs. I take what I need and leave the rest.
Yup, this can cause problems.
Some eggs get eaten here because they got cracked in the nest boxes; better nest boxes helps to cure this.
Some get eaten by hens who it seems only want their eggs in the nest because they are planning to sit and breaking the other hens eggs seems to encourage the other hens to find somewhere else to lay.
Some get deliberately cracked and eaten while the hen is sitting. They seem to know that some eggs are not going to develop. Many will say that's nonsense. But, I've watched hens push eggs to the outside of the clutch and not drag them back. I've marked such eggs. Some of these rejected eggs get eaten by the sitting hen. I've checked a few over the years and none that go rejected were fertile.
How carefully have I observed such behaviours? This carefully.
This is a good nest with regard to the eggs not getting broken and staying in contact with each other. It's an outside nest
View attachment 2000453
View attachment 2000456
This a rejected egg being eaten. There is a dead partially formed chick in it. View attachment 2000457
This is one way they get cracked.View attachment 2000458
How may times have I observed and confirmed such observations? It must be hundreds now.
When all is said and done, if a hen is eating eggs it's a human management problem and in most cases, not the hens. Better to sort out the management problems than kill a laying hen imo.

+1

But, if it looks in the shape of an egg..why won’t they just think it’s ok to eat the ones in the nests?

Chickens are far smarter than we give them credit for. I have a leghorn that lays on the ground daily. Her egg isn’t ever even TOUCHED by the other chickens. It’s not in a box so it isn’t in their way.

but in response to the specific question when I drop an egg for them, it cracks when it hits the ground...

 

[Smeecl]

During the last two days I noticed that some of my eggs had been broken into and not just cracked. I figured that I had an egg eater and began examining all of my chickens beaks. Low and behold I found the culprit. She is a silver leghorn. I am not sure if she is laying yet. I have placed her in a separate area away from the coop. How can I cure her without having to cull her?

I have an old hen who ate an egg- prolly her own- yesterday. I cleaned out the nest and put a ceramic egg in the nest. She pecked the ceramic egg, it didn't break and she didn't get a reward.

 

[Fintechie]

As @aart suggested I find 95% of the time in my situation they’ve always just been opportunistic egg eaters. Either the egg is soft or gets cracked when it is laid. I put sand in my boxes so that no matter what there are not rough surfaces to crack them first.

if she isn’t laying, she may be close to lay, and just really checking out what’s happening in the boxes. I don’t have egg eaters per se, but I have about 20 hens that will ATTACK cracked egg. They don’t go after normal eggs in the boxes, so I just drop cracked ones I find right in the coop for them to eat.

We found one of our leghorns eating eggs two or three times back in early days when the flock's egg production was mostly not normal yet - softshell or cracked. We just took it away as soon as we spotted that action. A few month later, now we think that's not happening any more...

 

[Smeecl]

I purchased a rear roll-out nesting box from bestnest. When they lay their eggs, they roll out into a small cage-like drawer and the hens can't touch them. Stops broodiness and dirty eggs too. It is the bomb!! I know they aren't cheap, but it is really effective.

 

[21hens-incharge]

I purchased a rear roll-out nesting box from bestnest. When they lay their eggs, they roll out into a small cage-like drawer and the hens can't touch them. Stops broodiness and dirty eggs too. It is the bomb!! I know they aren't cheap, but it is really effective.

X2 on the roll out nests stopping the egg eater.

For the handy folks there are lots of tutorials on youtube for homemade roll out nests.

 

[birdfreak1831]

How do you know they are eating the sisters eggs...my chickens use mostly one nest..despite having 8. We were thinking of making more now that we have more pullets..but what’s the point if they all use one spot?? How do they carry them around? I’ve seen them roll them..not carry. My egg eater only eats an egg every once a month or so...I put rocks in to deter...but she eats every bit of the shell. They have oyster shell constantly..in fact, their shell are super hard to break....any tips for my mystery egg eater? I don’t really get to watch like you do, as I have a full farm which demands my full attention.[/QUOTE


Hey Duckfarmer,
I understand "busy", especially with a farm.
Or raising kids, or doing BOTH!
You cannot be everywhere at once. And you don`t have the luxury of leisurely watching which I do when I am not working at my neighbors where, by the way, all my chickens come from.

So, trying to answer you :
I have/had two sets of sisters from my neighbors, two 9-year olds [same hatch], one of which was my egg eater, and two 3-year olds.
My egg eater was mysterious and not near as communicative as the others. I HAD to watch her closely to figure her out and I never understood ALL of her.
Had I not observed her carrying an egg I wouldn`t have believed it either.
The surviving 9-year old laid her eggs in the same coop corner. Always. And that`s where mystery hen would eat her eggs about twice a year. ONLY her`s. Why? I have no idea. Just got a kick out of watching her.
The two 3-year olds came out of the same brood of chicks - therefore sisters.
They both "egg" together in their favorite nest, about four feet up in a tree, never did so anywhere else, although they have numerous choices.

Don`t know if I answered to your satisfaction.
But I will try while I am here - my online time is not year round, only a few winter months.

Someone here had an interesting suggestion. Blowing {?} contents out of an egg and replacing it with mustard.
Cured the egg eater from doing the deed.
I can just visualize that....funny!

 

[aart]

Was there any shell left to examine?
Was shell thin and weak?

Diet and space are the first things to look at.

Wonders what happened to the OP @A.M. Eggs ?