my chickens started eating their own eggs!

[drdrew]

my chickens started laying eggs a couple months ago, everything was normal for a while until i started getting no eggs i just realised they were eating their eggs, not the entire egg just the eggshell and the white but i’m finding dried tolks in the nesting boxes.
i haven’t changed their diet they eat chicken feed that has added calcium and they forage around the backyard and i get them all food scraps from home what can i do to stop them from eating the eggs

 

[McChooky]

When deficiencies are the cause adding protein and calcium can help .If not diet related you may need tilted nest boxes (where the eggs roll into a tray) Gathering eggs a couple times a day can prevent them eating their eggs.

 

[rosemarythyme]

i haven’t changed their diet they eat chicken feed that has added calcium and they forage around the backyard and i get them all food scraps from home what can i do to stop them from eating the eggs

Can you be more specific? What feed are you using, and how much in food scraps are they getting each day (exact amount and what is in the scraps, vs number of birds)? Could be nutritional imbalance due to too many extras being fed (i.e. protein dilution).

Otherwise you might want to consider rollaway nest boxes, or gathering eggs very frequently in conjunction with utilizing fakes (so they have "eggs" to peck at but with no reward, to break them of the behavior).

 

[McChooky]

If not diet related you will have to cull them or buy "Rollaway" nest boxes.Personally I have no experience with hens doing this sorry.

 

[gimmie birdies]

I put in fake eggs. The fake eggs are no reward. I also collect more than one x a day.

 

[drdrew]

Can you be more specific? What feed are you using, and how much in food scraps are they getting each day (exact amount and what is in the scraps, vs number of birds)? Could be nutritional imbalance due to too many extras being fed (i.e. protein dilution).

Otherwise you might want to consider rollaway nest boxes, or gathering eggs very frequently in conjunction with utilizing fakes (so they have "eggs" to peck at but with no reward, to break them of the behavior).

the feed consists of wheat and cracked corn with added calcium powder and i sometimes add dried pepper flakes when it’s cold out
food scraps depends on how much and what we cook at home i give the chickens any part of the ingredients i don’t use for cooking and if theres extra food that wasnt eaten at home the chickens get that too
a friend of mine runs a small grocery store so all unsold leafy greens and fruits go to the chickens too
i’ve been doing this since i got them it’s just these past 2 months i’ve realised that i was getting no eggs at first i thought it was just the winter weather but i just recently found eaten eggs in the nesting boxes

 

[aart]

the feed consists of wheat and cracked corn with added calcium powder and i sometimes add dried pepper flakes when it’s cold out
food scraps depends on how much and what we cook at home i give the chickens any part of the ingredients i don’t use for cooking and if theres extra food that wasnt eaten at home the chickens get that too
a friend of mine runs a small grocery store so all unsold leafy greens and fruits go to the chickens too
i’ve been doing this since i got them it’s just these past 2 months i’ve realised that i was getting no eggs at first i thought it was just the winter weather but i just recently found eaten eggs in the nesting boxes

So they get no commercial chicken ration, with the needed vitamins/minerals/amino acids, at all?

Oh, and....Welcome to BYC! @drdrew
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[Isadora]

Very hard to break them of the habit once they start. And, what's worse, others see one do it and join in, thus learning the behavior.
Roll away nest boxes are probably rhe easiest solution. But fake eggs and checking for eggs more than once a day can help.

 

[Brooks_]

Very hard to break them of the habit once they start. And, what's worse, others see one do it and join in, thus learning the behavior.
Roll away nest boxes are probably rhe easiest solution. But fake eggs and checking for eggs more than once a day can help.

With the info at hand, I think this is a nutritional problem. Laying soft eggs that break easily and thus not passing up something good.

Mine will eat the few soft, broken eggs, but have shown no sign of "egg eating". Anecdote, I know.

 

[Isadora]

With the info at hand, I think this is a nutritional problem. Laying soft eggs that break easily and thus not passing up something good.

Mine will eat the few soft, broken eggs, but have shown no sign of "egg eating". Anecdote, I know.

An EE of mine started eating eggs the same way, but unfortunately also progressed to breaking hard shells.