We've got an egg-eater on our hands...😤

[angeldiver]

Would they realize that the golf balls are not real eggs right away? I'm afraid that it would not fool my girls. I also check the boxes every day, and every time, zero eggies

You can buy ceramic eggs at your local stores. That’s what I used to stop an egg eater. Worked like a charm. I did have to write FAKE on it because my husband kept collecting it with the others.

 

[inkydew]

We used "chalk" eggs from Hobby Lobby as starters for the babies before they started laying, partly to show them where they were supposed to lay. I'm sorry to disappoint anyone about the intelligence of their chickens, but they can't tell the difference! They will lay on them, cuddle them, warm them, etc., just like they were their own.

Hello everyone. We've got some egg-eater(s) now This has been going on since maybe December? Or November? Or earlier?Honestly it has probably been going on for even longer than that, since I've seen broken eggs in the summer, but we just suspected that our chicken's big bodies were smashing the eggs against the bottom of the nesting boxes. That's definitely a possibility, since they have had yolk on their underbellies before. It's a pain in the butt because we are not getting barely any eggs as it is because it's the middle of winter, and the chickens have been eating all of the eggs that they lay. So we have to buy our eggs in the store now. There is evidence- such as empty egg shells in the run, yolk in the nesting boxes, yolk on the chicken's faces, and half-eaten eggs that are buried underneath the pine shavings somehow.
You would think that it would be easy to find out who the egg eater is by seeing who has yolk on them, but most of them have yolk on themselves, that's the problem. I think there is one chicken who grabs the egg and starts eating it, and the others join in to eat the egg- so there is the culprit, and the partners in crime. The partners in crime obviously are doing nothing wrong, because they are just joining in to eat the egg if you know what I mean. I must find out who the culprit is so I can stop them. Also, have you seen how expensive eggs are in the store??? HOLY COW!!! Great value (Walmart) eggs are 5 dollars and something. We want to start selling eggs for like 6-7 bucks once egg production starts back up but we obviously can't do that if the chickens are eating their eggs Is there a cheap way to stop our egg eater(s)? Getting rid of them or culling them is definitely NOT an option, they are our little babies. Also, a camera would be very hard to install because there is no electricity running to the coop, and cameras are expensive. Is there a way that we can make a DIY automatic-egg-collecting nesting box with only a few materials? Or if you have other suggestions they will be very much appreciated.

Thanks so much in advance!

Actually there are very reasonably priced cameras out there. Got two of them on Amazon. $27.99 each and no AC required because they are charged with a USB cord and I do that about once every 30 days.
At least take a look at it and read the comments.

 

[BigBlueHen53]

Oh wow! That looks like something I could use. Can I watch it from my phone? Does it record?

 

[Chicken_Obsesser]

Oh! That makes a lot of sense! kind of like those nest box curtains maybe??

Yes, exactly!

 

[Dragonlady1956]

My chickens ate an eggs once. I started giving them raw hamburger and I put powdered calcium on it. I haven't had a problem since and my eggs can be dropped and all they do is dent a little your chickens may be missing something in their diet and that's why they are eating eggs

 

[Hickorychickens]

I've tried all the "tricks" mentioned but this roll away nesting box solved my egg-eating chicken issue instantly. Assembly was ok, directions weren't the best, never installed the curtain. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B082P5HVNV/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

[talkinboutchickens]

Actually there are very reasonably priced cameras out there. Got two of them on Amazon. $27.99 each and no AC required because they are charged with a USB cord and I do that about once every 30 days.
At least take a look at it and read the comments.

Oh wow! we'll look into that, thank you!

your chickens may be missing something in their diet and that's why they are eating eggs

Yes, I admit, they are definitely missing calcium and protein. Gonna switch over to 20% layer feed once their feed bin needs a refill. I have not been giving them crushed oyster shell on the side this whole time I have owned chickens for going on 5 years in march, so I feel SO bad. Gonna get some from TSC on Saturday hopefully

I've tried all the "tricks" mentioned but this roll away nesting box solved my egg-eating chicken issue instantly. Assembly was ok, directions weren't the best, never installed the curtain.

Thanks for the link! I'll look into that.

 

[inkydew]

Oh wow! That looks like something I could use. Can I watch it from my phone? Does it record?

Absolutely! It has an app and it's free and the recording stays for three days but I also have an SD card in it. I have two cameras and I can move them around wherever I want.

 

[BigBlueHen53]

You can buy ceramic eggs at your local stores. That’s what I used to stop an egg eater. Worked like a charm. I did have to write FAKE on it because my husband kept collecting it with the others.

I use golf balls. It is easy for me to tell they are not eggs, both by sight and by feel, but the chickens seem to be fooled. I got the bright yellow ones, lol.

It is easy to think the chickens are not eating both the oyster shell and the grit. They don't eat much so the levels don't go down very fast. But they do need it, and they do take it.

 

[Juaneata]

Is it a myth that if the chicken or a rooster eats an egg then they become infertile?

I bought some wooden eggs. They stopped trying to eat eggs because they were pecking the hard wooden eggs. They’re even sit on them with their own eggs. It works too.