To smart for her own good

[Gersbud]

I thought I had solved my egg eating problem in my coop. I place golf balls in all the nest boxes. Well today I went out to check on the girls free ranging and to clean out the nest boxes that SOME GIRLS JUST HAVE TO SLEEP IN and there I found one very BAD White Rock. She was in one of the boxes and I watched her step on the only egg in the box that was next to 2 golf balls and start to eat it. So I took her out and I cleaned out the box. Then when I was finished she came back in and checked out all the boxes and looked at all the golf balls and turned her little beak up and left. As to say what the heck no eggs to eat.
She is such a bad girl. How can I break her of this very bad habit that I thought I had under control but itis quite clear that I do not. Any suggestions without having to do her in.

 

[TundraChick]

The soup pot is the only way to break that habit.

 

[Break an Egg]

Give her scratch to eat in the morning so she has something to peck at as well as to occupy her. Maybe hang some treats like greens to keep her from thinking about eggs.

If that doesn't work, I would isolate her, to see if you can break her, she may still eat her own eggs, but that way she won't be eating all the others too.

 

[wynedot55]

pen her off to herself.or put her in the stew pot.thats the only sure way to break an egg eater.

 

[chickbea]

Well, if she is able to break the shells just by stepping on them, I'm wondering if they are getting enough calcium. Make sure they have it free choice all the time.
My little Alice is my only egg eater. I don't use golf balls in the nest, I use wooden eggs from a craft store and I paint them to look like actual eggs. Some hens seem gullible enough to think anything round is an egg, but Alice definately knows that a golf ball isn't an egg - she totally ignores them!

Another thing I do is, when I am collecting the eggs, I'll often hold one of the wooden ones in front of Alice, and she will peck away at it a few times, but she soon gets frustrated. You should also collect eggs as often as you can. If you work all day, maybe you can enlist a willing neighbor to help collect - kids love to gather eggs!

 

[kaylakala]

The things I don't know about chickens....

 

[Red]

My light sussex hen is the bottom of the pecking order, and when our other two chickend peck at her too much she will get frustrated. It's then that she goes up into the nest box in the search of an egg or two to eat...However, she only eats eggs a few times a year and is such a lovely girl, i think she just gets annoyed sometimes

I've heard that checking for eggs as often as possible so they're quickly removed also helps prevent egg eating too...

 

[Gersbud]

Quote:
The girls do have free choice to oyster shell and grit. My WR is probably a little larger then she should be. She gets all the layer she can eat, BOSS, and she eats eggs.
She does know the difference between golf balls and eggs sadly. I will have to get some wooden ones from the craft store. My eggs all have a rather hard shell but she maybe getting help from the nest boxes. They have wiremesh bottoms.

 

[fowlwoman1]

My naughty Owl is finding a new home tomorrow due to her egg eating habit. She will be going to a home where she will be more of a pet than here. she is a strange bird who must be a can short of a six-pack. She is quite loveable and interesting and friendly, but she eats eggs. Naughty naughty!!