Separating an Egg Eater

[ellyn]

I need some separating feed back or suggestions.

I have an egg eater, I believe that she is at the top of the pecking order. I would like to separate her for awhile and see if the other hens leave the eggs alone.

I have a dog kennel that I can put her in, inside the coop at night and out in the run during the day.
I can also partition off the run for her to have a small space of her own to roam during the day.

Is that enough separation from the rest of the girls or do I need to isolate her...out of sight out of mind.

Please advise.

 

[ADozenGirlz]

Hi ellyn. Egg eating is one of the most difficult behaviors to modify and can become a habit that is picked up by others. Isolating the offender isn't going to break the habit, unfortunately. Some tactics that folks have tried with mixe results are to blow out eggs, inject mustard, seal up the holes with candle wax and put in the nest box. The theory is that the flavor will deter them.
The method I have used with good result is two-fold: to put fake eggs in the nest box (golf balls, plastic Easter eggs, marble/ceramic eggs, etc.). When the eater pecks at those eggs, she gets an unpleasant surpise that may curb her appetite for breakfast food. The second aspect of my method is to hang nest box curtains. That creates an out-of-sight situation that at least sets up a situation where they are not lured in by the sight of eggs. More about nest box curtains on my blog here:
http://eggcartonlabels.blogspot.com/2012/03/nest-box-curtains-more-than-fashion.html

I need some separating feed back or suggestions.

I have an egg eater, I believe that she is at the top of the pecking order. I would like to separate her for awhile and see if the other hens leave the eggs alone.

I have a dog kennel that I can put her in, inside the coop at night and out in the run during the day.
I can also partition off the run for her to have a small space of her own to roam during the day.

Is that enough separation from the rest of the girls or do I need to isolate her...out of sight out of mind.

Please advise.

 

[ellyn]

Thank you Chicken Chic,

I have thought about curtains because I have two boxes that are not getting used, one box does and then the other favorite spot...not in a box, but between the box and the stand that holds the water. Private I guess. Anything to at least keep the eggs from getting eaten before we get them collected; we are vigilant to collect when we're home. I would like to keep Penny around, she lays a beautiful egg.

Any thoughts or red flags about separating? I still would like to take her down a notch, some of my hens are getting their feathers pecked off, I suspect her and one other hen, the hens may be molting too.

 

[Den in Penn]

Have you thought about roll out boxes? The eggs roll away out of the hens sight and reach. There are a couple of threads about them.

 

[Chickadeeee]

I heard somewhere that egg-eating generally starts because the chicken feels the need to have more minerals and vitamins in her diet (eggs are chuck full of them)...then of course, it can grow into a habit. I think the fake eggs or the roll-out boxes sound like good, effective ideas. I'd also increase the amount of vitamins and minerals in the chicken's diet, and hopefully she'll ease out of her little addiction. :} Good Luck!