They won't stop eating their eggs

[ADKChickenMom]

I have 12 hens. It's still cold here but some of the gals are laying. I'll get about 5-7 eggs a day have only been able to retrieve 3-4 eggs. I believe they're eating the others but there is only a wet spot in 2 of the 4 boxes. No shell. Ideas?? I've removed all of the bedding, sanitized the coops and put fresh bedding, flakes on the coop floor and 1st Saturday Lime. The next day, the same thing. 4 eggs and 2 wet spots. Ugh!

 

[Kiki]

What exactly do you feed them?

 

[SummerTheAnimalGirl]

Ugh, I am sorry for you! I understand how you feel.

Ours were eating eggs a while back too. What I did was filled some emptied egg shells with dish soap and mustard, plus added fake eggs, and collected the real eggs as often as I could. That way they discovered that eating the eggs would either be a gross surprise, or nothing would happen at all. After a few weeks of that, they stopped eating eggs. So you could try that.

BUT, with that said, there are a few factors to consider. For one, they could be eating eggs out of boredom or overcrowding. How big is your coop and run? What kinds of things do they have for enrichment?

It could also be something wrong with their diet. What feed are they on? How many “treats” do they get? Do they have extra calcium (preferably oyster shells) in their diet?

Could it be posible that a rat or weasel of some sort or other small creature is eating the eggs?

There are more things to consider, but we will start with these.

 

[Lacy Duckwing]

Ugh, I am sorry for you! I understand how you feel.

Ours were eating eggs a while back too. What I did was filled some emptied egg shells with dish soap and mustard, plus added fake eggs, and collected the real eggs as often as I could. That way they discovered that eating the eggs would either be a gross surprise, or nothing would happen at all. After a few weeks of that, they stopped eating eggs. So you could try that.

BUT, with that said, there are a few factors to consider. For one, they could be eating eggs out of boredom or overcrowding. How big is your coop and run? What kinds of things do they have for enrichment?

It could also be something wrong with their diet. What feed are they on? How many “treats” do they get? Do they have extra calcium (preferably oyster shells) in their diet?

Could it be posible that a rat or weasel of some sort or other small creature is eating the eggs?

There are more things to consider, but we will start with these.

2x this!

I'm currently having a slight egg eating problem myself. I got hens with soft shells and others who are accidentally stepping on them. Not to mention, my hens wouldn't keep the shavings in the nesting boxes. I've increased my flock's calcium with oyster shells, but they're secretly wasting them. I've discovered that sawdust works better in the nesting boxes and I've been collecting the eggs earlier than I usually do. It's helping some, though because I'm not collecting multiple times a day, there's still one egg I might loose.

On a side note, if rats are ruled out and if you've checked off everything that @SummerTheAnimalGirl had said, then maybe look into rollaway nesting boxes?

 

[bhaugh]

Buy a cheap camera and see who or what it is before removing the culprits. I won’t keep birds that destroy what they lay.

 

[ADKChickenMom]

What exactly do you feed them?

Laying feed from Tractor Supply, vege scraps, blueberries, sunflower seeds.

 

[Isadora]

Roll away nest boxes are helpful if your birds are willing to lay in them.

 

[HumbleAmerican]

I had an egg eater.

I cycled through the flock leaving one in my broody breaker for a couple days at a time. Second to last one ate her egg in the cage. I let her go another couple days and she ate another.

She was that evenings soup.