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

[talkinboutchickens]

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.

Wow that is really neat!!!

 

[Perris]

Yes, I admit, they are definitely missing calcium and protein

Gonna switch over to 20% layer feed once their feed bin needs a refill.

If you want to stop the egg eating, you could supplement their diet in the meantime with some calcium and protein; tinned sardines fit the bill, are widely available in shops, and are cheap (unless you're conned into buying ones in pretty tins).

 

[Trampmom]

I have one turkey and my chickens only eat her egg. One time I watched our little bantam rooster pecking the turkey egg AS IT WAS COMING OUT!

 

[Chickenclaude]

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!

Are you feeding them at a regular time window? Are they enclosed because of the weather? I know mine are. If I’m late feedingthem, sometimes they eat them too.
I just overfill their feeder so if I’m late, they aren’t hungry.

 

[Chickenclaude]

Are you feeding them at a regular time window? Are they enclosed because of the weather? I know mine are. If I’m late feedingthem, sometimes they eat them too.
I just overfill their feeder so if I’m late, they aren’t hungry.

I also hang things to entertain them, like a head of cabbage or a handful of frozen corn that they have to find.

 

[HappyHourHomestead]

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!

I would doubt that they are smashing them in the nest boxes because hens are designed to brood eggs. Some egg eaters can't be broken but it's always a good idea to provide more calcium in their diet just incase they are not getting enough of it. My Buff Orpington, Dusty, once was an egg eater. I blew out the contents of an egg once and put toothpaste and mustard mixed back into the shell and put it in the nest box. She hasn't eaten another egg again.

 

[Love Donkeys]

When I worked in a Sporting Goods store there were inexpensive battery trail cameras. I would check out Walmart or other sporting stores and check the battery trail cameras out. As long as you don’t want all the bells and whistles I think you could find less than $40.

 

[Love Donkeys]

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.

Lol! My husband painted old door knobs tan and put them in the nest boxes! I also used golf balls when he ran out of door knobs. Lol!

 

[Ted Brown]

Many have already said this, I have been through the egg eater dilemma and mostly solved it with roll in nests (I have a walk in coop)

The build was trivial - 2 end pieces, the divider/entrance, floor, 2 strips to support the floor, 2 cover pieces over the roll away section. No roof as I mounted it under a drop board.

The 1st build did not work because my egg eaters stretched their necks under the divider and could reach the eggs. I made the floor wider (24 inches, 12 inside 12 out); egg eating problem resolved for those that use the nests.

I switched from straw to artificial grass as the straw prevented eggs from rolling. A single length of 28" by 7' which easily slides out the front so I can step outside and give it a good shake to get rid of debris.

Of late I have a few hens that are using a dark corner to lay their eggs, I have seen one with egg shell in her mouth so may still have a problem, that will get resolved through culling. I currently have 27 pullets/hens (plus several roosters in separate cages for breeding) and spend $40/week for feed. The birds are not pets rather a responsibility and to fill time&intellect so they either contribute (I sell eggs to cover costs) or they go.

 

[Kiki]

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

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

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

What have you been feeding/what are you feeding now?