Uh oh. I think my chicken ate her egg today.

[UkuleleLady]

I found the shell very nicely cleaned out. It had probably been a couple of hours after she laid it that I found it. This is the first time it has happened so I hope that I can nip it in the bud. I just have the one chicken because she wandered into our neighborhood and we rescued her. I want to get her company but we are not set up for it yet, and I do understand there is a quarantine period as well.

I Have read up a bit. Looks like I have to go try and find some fake eggs. And I gather that I need to start going out there right about the time she lays and collect it but can I break her of this habit? Is she just bored because she doesn't have any company? It Can't possibly be that she is hungry. She is a very spoiled chicken and I feed her a ton and I feed her all kinds of stuff. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you

 

[Free as a Bird]

http://www.tillysnest.com/2012/02/egg-eating-prevention-and-treatment.html
Here is a helpful link!
http://www.mypetchicken.com/backyar...e-eating-their-eggs-What-can-I-do-to-H27.aspx
And another one!
I know protein is sometimes a factor, so be sure she is getting enough. A simple trick is feeding scrambled eggs (cooked). It feels wrong doing it (haha!), but they won't associate it with uncooked egg and they still get the protein they want.

 

[11mini]

I leave one ceramic egg in each nest box at all times. When I bought my hens there was a broken egg in the run and they were all pecking at it, so I got the fake eggs right away. I held each hen and tapped their beaks with the fake egg a few times, then put the eggs in the run with the hens. All 3 pecked at it once or twice and now they are completely uninterested. Have not had a broken eggs yet (knocks wood).

 

[carolinasculpture]

Don't know what you have for nest boxes, but we use roll away nest boxes. When the eggs are laid, they roll to the back of the box, away from where the hens can reach them. As you set up for more hens, you could look into this system! For now, I'd try the extra protein and maybe some cabbage in a mesh bag for entertainment.

 

[aart]

What are you feeding? She should get some kind of chicken crumble or pellets. Look at the feed bag tag and see what the protein level is.
Most chicken feed does not contain animal protein and they need that too either by foraging or feeding meat and egg scraps.

 

[UkuleleLady]

Thank you so much for all of your replies. I have been vigilant waiting for her to lay her egg. After a while it seemed like she should've already laid it, I looked in her coop and it was on the bottom of the coop and it didn't have a firm shell. It was like a turtle egg or something. What's up with that? If yesterday's egg was like that I see why she ate it! I feed her layer pellets and scratch and she gets to forage a lot. Got her some crickets yesterday.

 

[UkuleleLady]

Oh yeah and I did string up some cucumber and some cabbage on a string and she definitely liked that.

 

[Rainier]

I'm new to raising chickens but I'm pretty sure the thin egg shell means she needs more calcium. When my girls started to lay I put oyster shells in for them to take when wanted. I have never had a problem with thin shells.

I've read some people make egg shells into a powder and feed that as well.

 

[UkuleleLady]

She has oyster she'll in her run. I just added more last night. Now she's really tripping me out. She is in her nesting box sitting on the wooden egg I put in there yesterday! What?!