Preventing hens from eating their own eggs?

[princewahaj]

Hello Seniors,

Today again my hen ate her own egg. I don't get a single chance to take out the egg of the coop immediately. Please indicate few ways to prevent her to eat her own eggs. I want to incubate more but almost unable to do.

 

[Odelia]

Lets start with a bit more information. How many chickens do you have? How many nesting boxes do you have? How many of them are eating eggs? If you only have one girl who is eating the eggs the best and easiest solution is to get rid of that bird. Once they start eating eggs it is very, very difficult to stop them from doing so.

 

[Odelia]

Here is a whole show on egg eating.

http://www.urbanchickenpodcast.com/ucp-episode-008/

 

[princewahaj]

Hmm, Only 1 girl in a coop. Rest are died and no plan to get more yet. So that means it is not possible to remove this habit. Thanks for information buddy.

 

[Lady Badlands]

I've had that problem and I just give the hen more protein. I have some very good brand Flint River Ranch Cat food. It's got no grain in it and is mainly protein. I gave my egg-eating hen the cat food, in addition to her regular organic feed, and she stopped eating her eggs. Also you might want to consider observing when she lays the egg and get in there right away to remove it. That and the extra protein should take care of the problem.

You might also want to consider getting your lone hen some companions. They are happiest and healthiest in a flock (doesn't have to be large--maybe 4-5 more?). She will do better with others.

Best of luck to you!

 

[princewahaj]

I've had that problem and I just give the hen more protein. I have some very good brand Flint River Ranch Cat food. It's got no grain in it and is mainly protein. I gave my egg-eating hen the cat food, in addition to her regular organic feed, and she stopped eating her eggs. Also you might want to consider observing when she lays the egg and get in there right away to remove it. That and the extra protein should take care of the problem.

You might also want to consider getting your lone hen some companions. They are happiest and healthiest in a flock (doesn't have to be large--maybe 4-5 more?). She will do better with others.

Best of luck to you!

Thanks lady. I appreciate your time.

 

[hellokittyfive]

I too had that problem from last April to just after Christmas. I have three hens, and after them eating them for months, after Christmas I found 5 eggs in the back corner of the coop. Before that, I tried everything short of culling them - eggs filled with mustard and hot sauce - they ate them! Wooden eggs - they play with them. Gave them oyster shells. As much as I would love to spend all day with my hens I have to work so I am not around to catch them as soon as they lay. Even on the weekends, they make noises and I think one is laying but nothing. I have been getting one here or there since January, I am pretty sure it is due to the frigid temps we have. I have no idea why they stopped. I had given up and even took the nest box out, they were only making a mess in it anyway!

I don't think I was helpful, but good luck to you!

 

[hellokittyfive]

I forgot, my husband also altered the nest box so the eggs would roll to the back and into a little compartment. They never used it!

 

[SD Bird Lady]

Hmm, Only 1 girl in a coop. Rest are died and no plan to get more yet. So that means it is not possible to remove this habit. Thanks for information buddy.

If there is only one bird how would you incubate the eggs? They won't be fertile? Sorry if I missed something.

 

[KayTee]

I have been getting one here or there since January, I am pretty sure it is due to the frigid temps we have. I have no idea why they stopped. I had given up and even took the nest box out, they were only making a mess in it anyway!

Depending on their breed, many hens will slow down or stop egg production altogether during the winter, so it is perfectly normal.

In winter it would not be logical for a hen to hatch chicks, as they wouldn't survive the cold temperatures and lack of natural food, so the arrival of shorter days triggers the hen to stop laying. Once the days start to get longer (as they are doing now) you should find that production picks up again. Some people like to put lights on in the coop during the winter - it fools the chickens into thinking that the days are longer, and so they keep producing eggs.

However, a chicken only has a limited number of eggs in her - once they've all been laid, that's it. You can make her lay them all in the first couple of years of her life, or you can leave her to lay them naturally, over the course of three or four (or more) years. Either way you'll still end up with the same number of eggs!

The down side to using lighting (apart from the extra electricity cost) is the fact that you force a hen to lay when her body should be recuperating. Egg laying requires a lot of energy, and in the winter a hen moults because she can divert her energy to replacing her feathers, instead of of making eggs.