I think my girls are egg eaters :(

[One Acre Wonder Farm]

My two narrie girls just started laying maybe two weeks ago. I know they're both laying because on one (only one) day I got two eggs. In the last week I've only gotten two maybe three eggs total. I made a lean-to type nest that they finally got the hang of. Yesterday I did a welfare check midafternoon and to my delight found an egg in the nest but like a fool I left it there till my evening egg collection rounds. When I went back the egg was gone.

these turkeys are cooped (no free ranging for a few more weeks) until I've collected my fill of eggs for hatching. The plan was to then let them hatch their own clutches. That seems unlikely if they keep eating the eggs

So my plan is to check for eggs more frequently (during the week that will mean before work, at lunchtime and after work) and I was thinking about putting treats or something in there to keep them occupied? I wasn't expecting the turkeys to be egg eaters

Roll away nests are probably not in the cards for me.

any suggestions?

 

[pdsavage]

When my first started laying took em about a month to lay everyday,so i would get a egg here and there till it realy kicked in....

 

[jerseygirl1]

Could it be something other than your girls eating the eggs? If not, I tried the liquid soap in an egg and sealed with wax

 

[One Acre Wonder Farm]

Quote:
I have a tom & two hens shut up in a coop, no other animals can get in or out. Will the liquid soap work on the girls? If so I'm off to build a soap egg!!

 

[jerseygirl1]

Here's the post

https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=246973

 

[fire1ok]

I have heard that birds that eat their eggs have some kind of deficenicy and by giving them oyster shell they will quit. It worked for me......just saying

 

[One Acre Wonder Farm]

I think I've heard it is a protein deficiency? I've been supplementing their feed with scrambled duck eggs but still the eggs disappear before I can get them

I'll try oyster shell, thanks for the suggestion Fire!

I wish I could identify who is doing the egg eating, as I've decided that Longranger is right, culling is the most practical option. What a colossal bummer this is! So frustrating

 

[OmaBird]

Could rats, mice or squirrels, or even snakes get to the nest boxes? I have never had one eat there eggs that where good eggs. But if one was a weak shell that broke they would gobble it up. I think it is natures was of keeping the nest box clean.

 

[One Acre Wonder Farm]

I'm fairly certain that if something were getting into that coop to eat eggs that my other coops/pens would have the same problem. We don't have egg eating snakes in Vermont, and we've never seen evidence of rats or mice; we have lots of chipmunks but I think they're too busy eating my cracked corn to bother with eggs

The girls don't consistently lay in the nest, many times their eggs are (well, "were" on the floor, I haven't gotten an egg in over a week) on the floor of the coop. I think the tom steps on them and then they gobble them up

Or at least that's how I think it started. Now I think they just eat them because they know they can...

 

[Struttn1]

You could have a large chicken (black rat) snake problem. They can swallow multiple eggs and will usually leave the crushed shell behind as evidence.