Stop eating your own eggs!!!

[Petej]

Why are my hens eating their own eggs?! It was two this morning, and another this afternoon. I think I caught the perpetrator (one of my RIR's, she also pecks at you when you go in the coop) and she is now in Isolation.

I have searched the forums and am looking for Concrete advise on what to do.

Put her down, fill a shell with mustard, soap the eggs, put fake eggs in the boxes.....I've seen it all.

 

[bburn]

This is probably not the information you are looking for.....however, when I had one egg eaten and showed up as everyone was chasing the one with the egg....I started going out at the time of day that I knew they were laying and throwing out treats. Then I checked for eggs several times a day....throwing out treats each time. Mostly BOSS....

Never have had another one but it sure upset me on the first one. Finally figured out it was a new layer that laid one on the ground...maybe someone stepped on it and broke it....regardless there was a free for all.

It seemed to work that they were distracted while others were laying.

 

[Petej]

Hmmm... Maybe I should throw out some scratch grains, BEFORE I go in the coop to collect.....


So far I have three eaten eggs, two were on the floor, the other in a nest box.....

Stop eating my profits!!

 

[Zanna]

I was also convinced two of my hens were eating eggs, I caught them in the act! What I later realized, I had blue jays and these blackbird/starling looking birds occasionally flying into the coop and pecking holes in the eggs and just eating some of the insides and leaving the rest. The hens I thought were breaking and eating the eggs were just cleaning out the nest so they could lay their egg. This happens every spring and fall in my henhouse. It took me a long time to figure out. I think in the summer, the birds have better things to eat so they leave the nest boxes alone. They fly right through the small holes in the chicken wire or in/out the open door as my girls free range all daylight hours. Something to consider...............
A reason for hens eating their own eggs is lack of calcium in their diet. Do you feed oystershell?

 

[Petej]

Yep, I feed oyster shell. I ran out today though, so I need more....

 

[Chicken.Lytle]

For a moment I thought you meant I should stop eating eggs .

I fed scrambled eggs, shell and all , to my birds to help one of them with thin eggshells.

 

[Petej]

Nope. I just want my chickens not too eat my breakfast! lol

 

[Q9]

That happened to us once - after being gone for 3 days (don't worry, the birds were well supplied with provisions!), I went out to check for eggs. There were quite a few, but they were wet. I then saw an empty eggshell.

Why do they do that?

 

[Petej]

I guess this has happened to my Father in law (who gave us the chickens) before. Just have to wait and see if I caught the right one. If I did, than it'll be chicken Noodle soup..... I have 25 others, so the loss of one, won't hurt....(OK, Emotionally, yes it will, Greatly....)

 

[swimmer]

I had one eating eggs too. I just noticed it the other day. Really ticked me off. I tried all the tips people gave me; mustard eggs, golf balls, extra protien.. Over the weekend I checked the nest box every hour so I could catch the egg eater in the act. Not sure who it was, but the eggs are now untouched. I still leave the golf balls in the nest box and one has gone broody on me. And she's not even laying yet.
Good luck.