not sure

[christophers]

We are new chicken owners and have wonderful flock of ten hens. A few days after we got our hens we noticed that there was some fluid in the nesting boxes, is this normal? I am worried that there is an egg eater in our flock but I can not find any egg shells.

 

[ChickensAreSweet]

If one of them is laying soft-shell eggs (it can happen occasionally to a hen or sometimes there will be a hen that does it a lot) then they WILL eat them. That doesn't make them an "egg-eater" in that they need to be culled or anything.

Any chicken will eat it if it doesn't have a hard shell. Make sure that you have golf balls or fake eggs in the boxes- this helps deter egg eating. Make sure you are offering oyster shells on the side, even if feeding layer feed.

Here:
http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/ps020
charts at bottom

If you do find that there is an egg eater in your flock some swear by filling eggs with mustard (needle and syringe). They don't like the taste.

 

[christophers]

Thank you, we have heard of the mustard egg, I don't see any evidence of any chickens eating them when I look closely. Mostly worried that one of them might not be healthy