Possible egg eater...

DellaNTuff

Chirping
May 17, 2018
107
184
91
... That dreaded situation. I've only had to deal with once before and it was in laying hens I bought, I never integrated into my flock and the seller was great and took them back, and that was like 8 years ago.

In my "old girl pen" (they are not really "old" just not this years hatch most are only 2017 models) I have every day this past week one nest of eggs covered in broken egg and yolk, sometimes the straw is soaked in it. I was wondering if I had a girl with soft eggs just breaking but found hard shell yesterday.

I am thinking I have somebody eating 1 egg. Not sure why this has started. They get fed layer ration in 1 feeder. In another I mix up sunflower seeds, scratch (oats, wheat, corn) and our home grown barley. As well as they have oyster shells and grit. I often toss them dried meal worms as well.

What should I do? Nobody has yolk on beak or anything to figure out who if anybody is even eating eggs.

Would love any thoughts on the situation. Does it sound like an egg eater or something else? I figured they would eat them all not just one lol as that's what happened years ago, never had anything but wet nests and a few shell parts.
 
egg eating is a natural feeding behavior of hens when a soft shelled egg is laid. they do not become egg eaters and will stop eating them when the problem that is making the eggs weak is fixed.

Too many treats
lice mites and worms
not enough calcium in feed

They need free choice oyster shell calcium and 90 to 95% of their diet as layer feed.
 
They do have have free choice oyster shell. They do eat out of mostly the layer I fill that feeder every day and the other about once a week.

They also get out to forage when I can make sure they are safe every week day.

Should I not give them scratch/sunflower? The rooster really enjoys it lol.
 
Would love any thoughts on the situation. Does it sound like an egg eater or something else? I figured they would eat them all not just one lol as that's what happened years ago, never had anything but wet nests and a few shell parts.
Were the shell parts you found good and thick and hard or thinnish and fragile?
Chances are that egg was easy to break, thus fair game for eating.
Only way to find out is to watch them like a hawk and gather eggs frequently if it's possible for you to do so.

The treats/other foods may be diluting nutrients in layer feed.....it can be really hard to say unless you make a change for a couple-few weeks and see what happens.
 
I wonder if it has something to do with molt?
Sorry I don't have any answers for you..other than stalking to find out who is doing it.
It's a toughy, I hate cleaning broken egg nests.
In my case there was a thin shell layer, took me weeks to find out that and then who.
Meanwhile I stalked the nests grabbing those weak eggs asap, trying to beat out the scavngers.
 
Yes for sure, I have been checking lots today. They are right beside my house currently.
It has also been VERY hot here during the day, maybe that's part of the issue too. I do as much as I can to help them with fresh cold water ever few hours ice to pick at as well as having the run in the shade but you can still tell they like the heat as much as I do lol.
 
Giant(9x14x2") ice chunks is my hot weather go to for the chooks...
....along with an occasional doe of electrolytes.

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Where in this world are you located?
Climate is almost always a factor.
Please add your general geographical location to your profile.
It's easy to do, then it's always there!
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Had a similar problem. I collect my eggs ASAP. After I do I place ceramic eggs in the box. Got them cheap @chewy.com. So far it’s working. My problem started when one of my “old girls” laid a softy. And the younger ones got a taste of it before I could clean it up. Look for yolk on someone’s beak bet that will be your eater. Good luck. Gotta get on top of it before it becomes habitual.
 
Had a similar problem. I collect my eggs ASAP. After I do I place ceramic eggs in the box. Got them cheap @chewy.com. So far it’s working. My problem started when one of my “old girls” laid a softy. And the younger ones got a taste of it before I could clean it up. Look for yolk on someone’s beak bet that will be your eater. Good luck. Gotta get on top of it before it becomes habitual.
True, fake eggs might help...tho you can get them locally for about the same price as chewy and no shipping.
 

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