OH NO!! I caught my Millie Fleur hen eating her egg!

[lilcrow]

In no time all three were up there into with her, the other hen and the roo. Is it safe to assume they are ruined? Is there anything I can do? I'm just sick.

 

[canada-goose]

You could install a roll-out nesting box. They help a bit. The best thing is to collect the eggs as often as you can. Or you could tolerate it.
Bad chickens!

 

[lilcrow]

What does tolerating get me? I'm assuming that I would be able to catch SOME eggs? How long does it take them to break and eat them from the time they lay to the time they eat them. The last few days I had been getting the eggs when they were still warm. Of course I was pretty excited about that. It was a first for me and I thought that was kind of cool, but then I hadn't seen any eggs for a couple of days. They normally lay around 3 or 3:30 so today I checked at 4 only to find her with a snotty beak, pecking at the place where the egg normally sits. I didn't want to believe my eyes, so I stuck my fingers in there and sure enough, egg white

I feel like getting rid of them, but what would I do with them? Who would want them? I won't sell or even give them to anyone without telling them what they are doing.

 

[canada-goose]

Okay, I'll try to answer all of your questions:

Quote:

 

[happyhenhouse]

lilcrow, I would feel terrible just as you do.

Maybe if you try feeding them cat food (protein) and yogurt (calcium) shortly before laying time it would cool their inclination to devour those eggs.

Your Millie Fleurs are such a sweet breed, don't despair.

 

[lilcrow]

Thank you both. Kooshie, I know that was a barrage of questions all at one time........my apologies for that, I'm a bit frantic. I think the thing that freaked me so about it was to see all three of them with their little faces smooshed into it pecking so gluttonously.
I'd be surprised if they just stepped on it. I've cracked a couple of their eggs to check for fertility and they are strong eggs. As a matter of fact I was feeling a bit relieved about their eggs, thinking I wouldn't have to worry about that as an issue even from accidentally cracking one and getting a taste because they were so strong. Which takes me straight to happyhenhouses' suggestion about the yogurt and cat food. I recently read about there being something bad in cat food, but I had just started feeding them yogurt. However, I had run out and hadn't given them any in the last 2/3 days. They had only received their crumble, some bread crumbs, a few sunflower seeds and gravel. I feel like a bad mother, that possibly I caused this through depriving them or something. I'm going to get a huge container of plain yogurt, some meal worms and make sure that they have plenty of variety in their morning feed and as an afternoon treat.

 

[canada-goose]

Quote:
No problem! I'm here to help! Egg eating is horrible! Maybe you could set up a camera in the coop. See if they break the eggs on purpose.

 

[chookchick]

Don't give up them so soon! I've had egg-eating and they seem to be doing okay right now (except one--I've only gotten 2 eggs from her since she started laying-what's up?) Things you can do that might help--up the protein in their diet as you mentioned, make sure they have access to oystershell at all times, even if they are on layer feed. (If the shells are weak or absent, they are likely to eat them). Put a dark cloth draped over the nest box, so they can't see the eggs (suprisingly, they seem to like this). Keep egg-shaped stones in the nestboxed (ouch!). And of course, collect the eggs as often as you can, keep track of who's laying etc... I don't think most chickens will take easily to egg-eating, as the species would rapidly disappear.

 

[Judy]

If I really wanted to keep the hens, I would fix up rollout nests.

 

[tcwk]

Someone just posted on here that they broke an egg eater by filling an eggshell with liquid soap and sealed it with wax. Here is the link.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=231649