Success

[really4me]

I read everyones comments about chickens eating their eggs, how to stop it and tried several ideas suggested. I have come to find out that one method works. I put a wooden egg in one box and 2 golf balls in another. Since doing this I have not had one eggs even pecked at. What didn't work? Blowing out an egg and filling with mustard. I found the hen doing the damage with the yellow dye on her feathers. She broke into several eggs until I decided to try the wooden egg idea. I am so glad it worked as I didn't want to get rid of this hen or have her teach others to do it too. Thanks for the idea BYC!

 

[Howard E]

Curious......how high is your nest box above the floor of the coop? Can a bird standing on the floor peek in and see eggs in the nest?

 

[really4me]

My boxes are up on a shelf they have to fly up to get inside of. I see them looking as they arrange themselves inside, so I would say yes, they see the wooden egg or balls. Hope that helps if you are having egg issues. I also try to collect the eggs asap.

 

[Howard E]

The reason I ask is one of the issues that causes chickens to eat eggs in the nest is if they can see them while standing on the floor of the coop. They get curious (bored), see the eggs, peck at them, break them and then eat them. They train themselves to do it. Elevating the nest boxes up off the floor enough so they cannot see inside them from the floor.....have to fly up to them......is the tried and true solution.

Out of sight, out of mind?

But it sounds like you had one eating eggs anyway and came up with a good solution. Good info to remember for all of us.

 

[really4me]

Yes, I imagine that is very true. i think that in my situation I had too many hens using the same box. They are only just starting to lay and I found the first egg with no shell to speak of. Then another with beak marks in the shell but not broken. The next day the whole eggs was eaten and that's when i went to the mustard. She had only eaten 1 egg so it was not a habit yet, thank goodness! This was my only older hen that was laying since last year. Now she is just laying in the nest like usual.