Played a trick on an egg eating hen and.........

[Cloverleaf Farm]

Quote:
Chickens can't taste "hot", they don't have the right kind of taste buds...I used the antibacterial Dawn too with no ill effects. Mine ate it too, but then she never touched another egg.

Sigh.................I hope so, later today will know for sure

 

[44Wolves]

You probably used Dawn as it is "The Gentlest" Right? And try putting HARD BOILED Eggs in there. You'll find some yellow or white on her beak if she eats it

 

[gmendoza]

Get a dye pack from the bank and hollow out and egg and set the dye pack in there.Whomever is the green or blue dyed chicken is the culprit.

 

[shellie003]

We tried dawn dish soap, original, and numerous times and no one was ever sick or died or even remotely looked or acted ill. We had an egg eater at the end of Dec. We also tried hot mustard mixed with white vinegar, wasabi, soap mustard and vinegar... Still ate them. We knew which one was doing it though. We would go and check our eggs in the nest boxes and as we were collecting one she'd run up and peck on the others before we got there. Then the other ones started. We had a big problem with 15 chickens. So I took the ring leader as I like to call her and put her in jail for 2 days. We used a super large tote with a make shift screened cover so she could see and breathe out. I put water and food in it and some pine shavings on the floor of it. I put her in at around 7 am and let her out at night time like 3:30 so she could run around and roost at night with the others. 2 days of this in 15 degree weather. When she was locked up we got around 9 and 10 eggs. Then we let her out of jail on a Saturday so we could check frequently to see if she was still up to no good or if it broke the habbit. NOPE she still pecked the eggs and then whatever she didn't eat the others would. So we culled the ring leader. We were sad because she laid good, (even in the tote) and was a very healthy chicken. She just must of had some mental issues. Since we culled her we have had and average of 10 to 12 eggs per day without anyone doing anything to them. Noone else bothers them at ALL!

Now I don't have to go out every hour on the hour in the cold and snow just to save some eggs. So my advise to you is find the ring leader and try and quarantee her maybe longer than we did and see if that help and if not...

Good luck I feel your pain!!!

 

[shellie003]

Oh and i also think she was stressing out the other birds. The few eggs we saved we had quite a few bloody ones, since her departure not even one. She could have been a real bully too!

 

[jerseygirl1]

Quote:
I would think that hard boiled eggs would encourage her to eat them, so I think I wll stay away from that, thanks anyway.

 

[jerseygirl1]

Quote:
That will be my next step, thank you

 

[EweSheep]

I found some marble (rock) eggs from Hobby Lobby and put several in their nest boxes. Stopped the egg eater or eaters for now.

I did try the HOTTEST and SPICEST liquid sauce in blown out eggs. At the first few gulps of eating the egg contents, they ran for the water and left the remained eggs alone.

 

[3goodeggs]

I tried time out. She laid in her cage, and did not eat her eggs... but as soon as she was free...

I hate to cull her. She has been a favorite. We have gone through a lot together. Perhaps human intervention isn't all good. we saved her life to later have to cull her? I am having a difficult time with that. but, we can not afford to feed 24 chickens for five eggs.

 

[Davaroo]

Quote:
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.

=======================================================================================================

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.