Oh no! Do chickens eat their OWN EGGS? :(

[benjaminkspence]

Uh oh! My girls finally started laying the other day, and we were so happy! Then yesterday, there was a pecked-looking egg.. Then today, all there is is empty bits of shell

Do I have a chicken that's eating her own eggs? They have been getting plenty of food and water, have lots of space, (all four of them live together in an 8x8x6 enclosure, and I let them out most every morning to graze on grass and the like...)

How do I spot the offender? Can I discourage this kind of behavior?

Any help is greatly appreciated!

Thanks!

Ben
the hens -> (Sammy Davis Jr Jr, Red, Goldilocks, Cheddah)

 

[RaeRae2]

YES, chickens can definitely learn to be egg eaters. You can do a general forum search for "egg eater" and will get tons of threads. I have an egg eater but it's never concerned me too much because I don't eat or use eggs and they are thrown out or fed to the dogs anyway.

I have noticed that sometimes she goes through spells of egg eating, and then she stops for awhile. I have wondered if it was a nutritional deficiency. This same hen now was diagnosed by the vet as calcium deficient and is on a calcium supplement after losing all her ability to walk.

You should always supply copious amounts of crushed oyster shell along with your feed and grit.

People suggest blowing out some eggs and filling them with spicy mustard or hot sauce so when they peck one open, they get a bitter surprise. Roll away nest boxes are apparently also very effective so the hen cannot ever get to the egg. I also read the suggestion to add some bright food dye like blue in the egg so it's stains the offending hen when she pecks it open. That would help you identify who is doing it.

In my case, my hen seems to eat eggs sporadically and now that's she been diagnosed with this severe calcium deficiency, it makes sense that she was eating eggs to fill a deficit in her nutrition. She was a free range hen and I had oyster shell out available to her but she never seemed interested in it.

I have been feeding her green leafy vegetables that are high in calcium as well as coating everything she eats in Osteo-Form powder.

I'm sure not a chicken expert, but I have read a little bit just because I have an egg eater myself.

 

[Moonkit]

Hens are curious.. occasionally one might peck at these wierd round things that are coming out. Perhaps one breaks the shell and tastes the inside.. YUM!! What a nice treat!

But for the keeper.. "Oh no! They're eating the eggs!"

Now, this behavior can be easy, difficult, or impossible to correct. It depends on your hen. One method that is suggested is to blow out an egg or two, fill it with mustard and put it back. Let them eat a few of those, they'll decide that they taste horrible and won't eat them again. This doesn't always work.. sometimes hens are just stubborn and the offender will have to be culled.

To catch the offender, you'll have to be clever.. perhaps conduct regular inspections and see if you can find any 'evidence' on the beak of the culprit. Or take a day off, stalk the nests and see if you can catch her then. Its important to stop this behavior early, because the offending hen can teach it to the rest of the flock.