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Well, it's most likely going to be the sick or dying one in the next day or two. If it was the antibacterial dish soap, it will be pretty obvious. Or it could be a snake, squirrel, raccoon, possum, weasel, rat.........
BTW, antibacterial soap is a sham. All soap is antibacterial. That is a marketing ploy.
Its safe to say that the many lurid and fascinating methods used to stop egg eating don't usually work.
- Hot sauce, mustard, horseradish, peppers all that stuff wont work on a bird - they have no taste buds. Throw an habanero pepper into the flock and watch what they do to it.
- False eggs and trick eggs full of soap or goo only makes them go looking for other eggs. Then it's more likely that other birds will learn the habit from the egg eating hen.
- Adding protein to their diet doesn't change the habit. It only fattens the birds while thinning your wallet.
- "Time out" may work on children but chickens shrug those methods off. They are birds, not kids.
Here is the hard truth. Egg eating is the result of accidental breakage.
Maybe the chicken stumbles around or fights with others over nest space - and breaks open an egg. Or she might peck at a piece of clingy poo or feather on a shell and gets inside that way. Either way, you aren't there to intervene and she learns of The Joys Within. Chickens aren't the brightest bulbs on the evolutionary tree, but they DO learn.
So what works against egg eating hens?
What most people don't know is we need a re-education. Simply put, we practice chicken rearing methods that are adapted from production methods. These were developed as part of an overall effort to make egg raising and chicken keeping more profitable and efficient. They serve the human very well - and they have little to do with the needs of the chicken.
So in our zeal to "have chickens," we are really following in the footsteps of those wicked production people we love to hate.
Suffice it to say that we, in our innocence, are sometimes our own worst enemies.
So here are some things you can do.
1. Collect eggs early and often.
This is a major step in the right direction. The hen doesn't know you are at work, school, or running errands - that is your problem. She is going to lay, regardless.
So, if the eggs simply lie there long enough, she is liable to test them with a few pecks from her rapier beak.
However, she can't peck at what isn't there, so get em picked up right away - just like grandma used to do.
2. Clean nests regularly.
This is rudimentary hygiene. It will keep pests and mites down, for one thing. It gives you another opportunity to see what is going on within your own henyard.
And finally, poo and clingy gunk on egg shells invites exploratory pecking. If things are clean and neat, there is lees chance the egg will be breached and the Joy Within uncovered.
3. Move the nests on occasion.
Again, this helps you keep them clean and keeps you involved. It also keeps the chickens on their toes.
4. Darken the nests.
This was a new one on me - hens wont eat in the dark. The open nest we so favor is easy to collect eggs from, and it is normally easy to make. It also allows us to watch the hen as she goes about her business, which in turn makes us feel good. But such nests have probably contributed to more egg eating than anything else.
Chickens prefer peace and quiet, and they like to lay in secluded places. So hang a curtain over the front of those open nests and give the girls some privacy.
5. Use a closed, communal nest box.
In this sort of nest box, the hen is literally forced to "walk on egg shells" (where did you think that term came from?). These nest boxes also make the chicken go slow, so all the squabbling and slob footed gyrations seen in open nests are minimized or eliminated. They are dark inside, too, catering to both the chickens desire for seclusion and preventing her from eating what she cannot see.
6. Use rollaway nests.
This mechanical contrivance does the same thing as fast collection... it is a techo-application of item #1, above. As soon as the egg is lain, it rolls out of the chickens reach into a collection tray. They are not easy to make, however, compared to the open sort. And they require that the birds lay in them. Errant layers, those that leave eggs anywhere BUT the nests, are only leaving tempting treats around for egg eaters.
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These things will help prevent egg eating from getting started. But once it does, there is little to be done but culling the offending hen from the flock. Finding this culprit for certain is usually done with a trap nest of some sort. This eliminates the guesswork on your part and exposes the egg eater quickly. As the name implies, the hen goes in to lay and cannot get out of the nest until she is released. The trap nest requires even more effort on your part, but it is a sure fire method. If the trapped hen also happens to be an egg-eater, well... she will be caught with "egg on her face," literally (also where this phrase came from). After that, it is the stew pot for her.
Oh dear, I said it. This hurts some of our feelings, I know. Many of you will say, "I can't do that to my "babies"..."
But culling those birds that don't measure up, like egg eaters or poor layers, means we don't pass on traits or habits that could harm our flocks, long term. Again, it is only in our modern rush to "get chickens" that we avoid these harsh truths.
Nonetheless, some will avoid them anyway. So, if you only have 3-4 chickens in a small space, then realize that egg eating may at some point become rampant. One starts and the others wont be left out of the fun - they also learn from each other. Crowding and proximity will see to this with or without you.
If it happens under these circumstances, it may be best to simply replace the entire lot.
