Thinks I have a couple egg eaters

[Bugdude]

Well have to say that for almost 2 years now all has been going great. This was up until about a month ago when I left home and left the responsibility of the chickens to my wife. When I came home after a week I noticed that she never went to the coop and there were a TON of eggs in there. Sure enough alot of them were just shell and leftover mess on the pine shavings.

It seems now that at least 2 of my chickens are eating their eggs and I cant get it to stop. These chickens were originally my wifes pets until she got bored with them and now I had to take over. I do not look at them as pets instead they are my egg providers. As I see it now if they are eating their eggs then they are a waste of feed and water. I figured I would stop by here to see if there was a way to fix the egg eating issue before I just give them a quick spin and send them to the landfill?

Also whats more humane for them? I assume theyre like pheasants so a quick couple spins will finish them, or is the hatchet method better? Kinda a gloomy post but the only reason they are still around is for production. Otherwise when she (wife) lost interist long ago they would have been shipped out.

 

[emys]

First make sure they have enough crumble and other stuff to eat. Then make a small hole in each end of an egg or two, empty the egg out, re-fill with dish soap or mustard. Then seal up the holes in the eggs with wax and stick them in the next box for the chickens to find. Make sure you collect all normal eggs as quick as you can.

This has worked with other egg eaters.

 

[crazy chook]

It is sometimes a lack of grit in their diet.

I would give them some added grit in their feed.

Sorry, I could not be of more help.

 

[Bugdude]

I will have to give the mustard trick a try.

I wouldnt assume their diet is poor. If anything I might be giving them too much variety. They currently have all the laying pellets they can eat as well as daily black oil sun flower seeds and scratch. I might be giving them too much excess because we have a regular flock of doves and mocking birds as well as squirrels that come eat lunch with the chickens. I mix in crushed oyster shell as well as grit into their pellets and seeds. They also get daily vegetables, corn, lettuce, tomatoes and even snails which I gather from my neighbors bushes, although it seems the neighborhood is going snail dry so I have moved to the park down the street. They also get weeds and grass from the garden area.

They are free range in the backyard which is about 1/4 acre. They have multiple water sources. Honestly aside from the threat of death if I stopped producing, I would love to be a chicken in my backyard.

 

[highcountrychickens]

After trying the mustard thing, and a number of other things to no avail, I had to get a rollaway nest box. (Look at Randall Burkey) that put the whole issue to rest (I had an advanced case of it - tried everything from boosting protein to mustard, to separating hens, etc. - It was worth the trouble to try these rollaway nests because the girls who were egg eaters were my best layers. ) The rollaway nest makes it so the eggs roll into a little protected cage where the hens can't get to them after they lay. Interestingly, a number of months later, one of them laid an egg in the run, and none of them touched it... it's as if they forgot it was an option! Good Luck?