Raw egg eating hen and leg mites

[quiltinmoma]

I'm a newbie... got 13 hens June 2nd from a friend. They are all about a year old.

One of the three red sexlinks is eating eggs, caught her three times now and I've read the posts about BOSS and oyster shell and I've been doing that since we got them, add it to their scratch AM and PM. So, tonight we caught her and have her in a cage (w/ food and H20) in the hen house. Guess I'll see if it's really her doing the damage. I think she ate 2 eggs today out of my 7.

Also, treated her and three others for SLM with Melaleuca Oil and MelaGel.

Sigh. Don't know what to do. These aren't pets. I want around a dozen eggs a day and am getting half that. Boo.

This site has been VERY helpful! THANK YOU!

Joy

2 black sexlinks, 3 red sexlinks, 2 white plymoth rocks, 5 Buffs and one little Japanese something or another.

 

[mljohnson05]

May I ask where they lay their eggs?? (is it in the light or dark area???
Provide a dark place for them to lay and a light place for them to eat so that eggs in the dark place aren't seen as food.
Cut back on everything but the commercial feed and the calcium until the problem is resolved in case it's nutritional. I always leave oyster shells out 24/7... they will eat what they need of them....
Sometimes hens do this because they need more protein....you may need to switch to something higher in protein (this generally helps most of the time) and keep the oyster shells out all the time...along with providing a DARK space to lay all eggs.

Best Wishes,
Laura

 

[quiltinmoma]

I don't know how to post a picture here, sorry, or I would of the coop. It's kind of dark but not really.... don't know how to make it darker.

I put oyster shell in feeder tonight for them. Protein content now is 17% mixed with 21% so pretty high compared to some I've seen.

Will see if Henrietta being isolated takes care of the problem. May try blowing an egg out and filling it with dish soap. Wonder about fake eggs or golf balls?

Thanks, Laura!!!

UPDATE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

No broken eggs yesterday. Let Henrietta out of isolation last night and will see how today goes. Added cardboard for padding yesterday AM and had a good day yesterday with none being broken. If any get broken today I'll have to put Henrietta in the pot. I haven't even had them a month and can't wait forever trying to re-train an egg-eater.

Thanks again, Laura.