Stop eating your own eggs!!!

[Weedchick]

I'm now wondering if I might have an eggeater.

I was in the coop today doing chores when a hen (golden campine) went into the nest box, to lay I assumed. There was one egg in there that I was going to collect on my way out, but the campine stood over it, and kind of held on to it and started pecking- hard!- at it. I swiped at her to get her off it and removed it from the nest, but I wonder if that may be why I didn't have any to collect yesterday. They have food available all day outside, a feeder full of crushed eggshells (very pulverized) A flock block in the coop, Scratch and BOSS tossed out in the run for treasure hunting, and I give them some greens every day. I only have 3 hens , 2 g. campines and my sweet B.A. I was planning on getting rid of the GC's in the spring because they're such spazzes, but if one of them is eating eggs it'll happen a lot sooner. I don't think it was a fluke, she seemed very deliberate . They all lay in the same spot in the nest box, and they're all 8 months old.
Any ideas?

 

[swimmer]

That's a good idea with the flock block.

 

[Petej]

Please excuse my Noob type questions.

What is a Flock Block?

BTW I found my other wooden Egg. That makes for two hens in the coop, sitting on fake eggs.....

I will say when I first read that, I thought I read something totally different and inappropriate for mentioning here. After all, this is a family forum!

 

[PepsNick]

My leghorn will eat the eggs my BR and BSL lay... !@#$% chook!

 

[card5640]

Flock block is a compressed seed block, ther are a couple of different brands, Tractor Supply has it about 10$. It is about 3/4 the size of a cement block. They peck at it, it is entertainment. Lasts quite a while w 14 chickens.

 

[Jabbok]

Hi! I'm SOOOOO glad I found this post. I have 4 hens and 2 just started laying, but I haven't been able to get the eggs yesterday or today. They eat them. Of course, my husband is working on the nesting box and that will be finished this weekend. I'm going to have it dark in there so they can't see the eggs. I also should feed them some calcium. They are probably stressed out because I have 3 too many roosters (not that that has anything to do with them eating their eggs).

Anyway, Glad I found this post and all the helpful advice!!

 

[Petej]

I just found out part of my problem was overpopulation. I have eight nest boxes and 26 hens. They've been nesting in my wood shed as well (which is fine since I have some hay in there), but now that it's cold, they want to be in the Coop.


For now until I get the new coop built I am going to try and use buckets, cut in half length wise (so they form a "U") and hang those in there too and see if that helps ease the congestion in the hen house...

Once the new Coop is built, I will be building roll away style boxes.

 

[JoAnn_WI_4-H_Mom]

As a child we had a roll away nest box that worked well except one hen figured out how to crane her neck in there and get them. Once caught (literally with her head down there eating eggs) and culled, we did not have any more egg eaters.

 

[Petej]

I got the additional nest boxes in the hen house, and have no more eaten eggs. The egg-eater hen is still in her own pen.

Now to see if my girls will use the new nest boxes (or buckets as it is)...

Starting construction on the new Coop here tomorrow or Saturday.....

 

[heathersboers]

My game hens were eating theirs- I finally got fed up and got rid of them all. I tried everything, but by the time the egg came out-they sailed on it- I have had no problems with my other chickens eating their eggs. I was told it was a calcium deficiency, but I dont know how true that was?