Livestock Guardian dog eats eggs

[grnidone]

I got Fernando -- Great Pyranees -- as a pup to guard my chickens from coyotes and vermin. He's less than a year old, and so we're working through issues.

He has discovered that chickens lay eggs and eggs are delicious. He hears the egg song and joyously runs over to the nesting box, and has a snack. He doesn't even wait for the hen to get out of the nest, he just nudges her out of the way.

And he is *so* proud of himself. It's his favorite trick. (It kind of does make me laugh.)

How do I combat this? If I bait the eggs with hot sauce, won't he be able to smell them and know they are not "the good eggs?" Does this work?

 

[New duck mommy 2021]

I got Fernando -- Great Pyranees -- as a pup to guard my chickens from coyotes and vermin. He's less than a year old, and so we're working through issues.

He has discovered that chickens lay eggs and eggs are delicious. He hears the egg song and joyously runs over to the nesting box, and has a snack. He doesn't even wait for the hen to get out of the nest, he just nudges her out of the way.

And he is *so* proud of himself. It's his favorite trick. (It kind of does make me laugh.)

How do I combat this? If I bait the eggs with hot sauce, won't he be able to smell them and know they are not "the good eggs?" Does this work?

Seeing as he is faster then you at getting to the eggs you may not get to do that
With all jokes aside are you able to block him off till after the birds have laid ?
My husky will lay on an egg she finds but never eats them

 

[nuthatched]

Make it so he can't fit his fat head into the coop/nesting area.

 

[Red Mangrove]

I've trained my dog to eat eggs from the ground but nowhere else. I'm glad he does this for me, because he deserves the nutrition. If a dog is a family member, does it matter if he eats eggs?

 

[ButtonHoarder]

I've trained my dog to eat eggs from the ground but nowhere else. I'm glad he does this for me, because he deserves the nutrition. If a dog is a family member, does it matter if he eats eggs?

He would probably eat all of the eggs if given the chance. If one member of my family ate all the eggs I would be very upset (and concerned).

 

[Allsfairinloveandbugs]

The first thing to do is stop laughing. And i'm being serious. Dogs are very sensitive to our verbal and physical cues, and I guarantee you he picks up on cues that you find his behavior cute. If you are truly serious about teaching him to stop eating eggs, the first thing he needs to know is that they are YOUR eggs. They are not his, and are off limits to him. This starts by reprimanding him the instant you see him respond to the egg song.

 

[Red Mangrove]

He would probably eat all of the eggs if given the chance. If one member of my family ate all the eggs I would be very upset (and concerned).

Interesting. I've drank 36 eggs before in a single serving and thought nothing of it

 

[cassie]

I was once given a small flock of hens because they "weren't laying". They laid plenty of eggs for me. My friend started another flock, and they didn't lay either, so she was going to give them to me also. Unfortunately for me, her husband looked out the window just in time to see their Doberman sneaking out of the hen house. As for your dog, the only thing I can think of is to fix things so there is no doggy access to the nest boxes.

 

[1cock2hens]

I've had 2 egg eaters, one is still struggling with the behavior the other I taught by scalding the dog and putting him on a chain every time I caught it eating eggs. He really valued his freedom and stopped quickly while the other one gets let off the chain and goes to look for eggs immediately.