What am I doing wrong?? Egg Eaters

[Leasmom1013]

I had chickens a very long time ago and never had the problems I seem to be having the last three years after getting chickens again. My first flock in 2023 started eating eggs and I did everything I possibly could. I bought rollaway nesting boxes, I stalked them. I removed any cracked eggs which was like battling vultures, as you know. I checked multiple times a day. But it got to the point that they stopped using the nesting box in order to eat the eggs. They would surround the laying hen and immediately eat her egg, shell and all. I gave them garden scraps and even grass and weeds that I gathered daily. Literally was cutting grass by hand to give them. So I raised a different flock and sold them to someone who had other chickens and a rooster.

I raised these 5 new hens and did the exact same thing. But because of the winter, they were just starting to give me 4 eggs per day. But I witnessed my only Easter Egger crack open an egg and they ate it just a few days ago. I was upset and figured they were bored because we had a huge amount of snow and they are enclosed by local ordinance and so I decided to toss out scratch more frequently, adding different things like cooked beans or whatever I had including some garden scraps because I’m still gardening indoors.

Mind you, I give them a feed that’s 16% protein. I make a homemade scratch mix for them adding spinach I grew and dehydrated specifically for them, oyster shell, split peas and all kinds of stuff including Black soldier Fly larvae. I even froze pumpkin seeds and skin for them for the winter. I usually toss out the scratch once a day and I give them food scraps a few hours later.

So yesterday as I went to give them another cup of scratch, I saw them eating an egg. I got the egg out as best as I could and today so far, I heard the sound of an Egg Layer, I decided to put two fake eggs in their run. I go out and there’s no egg and one of the fake eggs is also missing. The main one doing the egg cracking is my only Easter Egger and also the Head Hen and they are the only two out of all five that lays inside the nesting boxes. What do I do?? And what am I doing wrong??

 

[Folly's place]

Food may be an issue here. 16% layer, plus scratch, plus everything else, probably not a balanced diet, and especially low in protein. Is the layer feed fresh, by mill date on each bag? Is it a whole grain feed, or pelleted/ crumble?
Also, once one bird figures out how to eat those yummy eggs, she can show her flockmates how great it is to do the same thing.
Are the egg shells strong, or fragile? That's also an issue sometimes.
You may or may not repair this situation with these birds, but try. Fix their diet! Cut all the extras, especially the scratch. (One cup daily for five hens? Way too much!) Buy a 20% protein all flock or chick feed, and mix it with your remaining layer feed to make a change to the new feed, with oyster shell in a separate dish. Also grit in a separate dish, hope you are already doing that.
If it's one bird leading this behavior, separate or remove her, and hope the others get over it.
Twice we had an egg destroyer, identified by the yolk on her face, and removed her from the flock.
Fragile or cracked eggs are fair game for everyone, it's the bird who damages eggs on purpose who has to go.
Mary

 

[MysteryChicken]

I had chickens a very long time ago and never had the problems I seem to be having the last three years after getting chickens again. My first flock in 2023 started eating eggs and I did everything I possibly could. I bought rollaway nesting boxes, I stalked them. I removed any cracked eggs which was like battling vultures, as you know. I checked multiple times a day. But it got to the point that they stopped using the nesting box in order to eat the eggs. They would surround the laying hen and immediately eat her egg, shell and all. I gave them garden scraps and even grass and weeds that I gathered daily. Literally was cutting grass by hand to give them. So I raised a different flock and sold them to someone who had other chickens and a rooster.

I raised these 5 new hens and did the exact same thing. But because of the winter, they were just starting to give me 4 eggs per day. But I witnessed my only Easter Egger crack open an egg and they ate it just a few days ago. I was upset and figured they were bored because we had a huge amount of snow and they are enclosed by local ordinance and so I decided to toss out scratch more frequently, adding different things like cooked beans or whatever I had including some garden scraps because I’m still gardening indoors.

Mind you, I give them a feed that’s 16% protein. I make a homemade scratch mix for them adding spinach I grew and dehydrated specifically for them, oyster shell, split peas and all kinds of stuff including Black soldier Fly larvae. I even froze pumpkin seeds and skin for them for the winter. I usually toss out the scratch once a day and I give them food scraps a few hours later.

So yesterday as I went to give them another cup of scratch, I saw them eating an egg. I got the egg out as best as I could and today so far, I heard the sound of an Egg Layer, I decided to put two fake eggs in their run. I go out and there’s no egg and one of the fake eggs is also missing. The main one doing the egg cracking is my only Easter Egger and also the Head Hen and they are the only two out of all five that lays inside the nesting boxes. What do I do?? And what am I doing wrong??

First Cut out all excess treats. Next leave them with only their feed, & collect eggs as soon as they're laid. Do this for a couple weeks, then start going back to normal routine(minus the treats, or reduce how often you give them.)
If there's still egg eating after going back get pinless peepers(Blinders), this prevents them from being able to look straight ahead, correcting bad habits.
Next step would be increasing protien to 18% to 20%. Often times egg eating is a sign they're not getting enough protein, or some other nutrients.

 

[nuthatched]

You're giving them too much junk food and candy and not enough real food.

Stop all the scratch, scraps, grass, pumpkin, mealworms etc.

16% is an antiquated percentage for high production hens that are kept in cages and don't see their second birthday, it's not enough protein for modern birds.
When you add a bunch of extras, you dilute what protein they're getting.

They desperately need protein for not just laying eggs but for their body matenience and eggs are chock full of protein, they'll find protein anywhere they can.

Stop all the extra candy and treats, it's not doing them any favors.
I'd recommend you get a feed that's at least 18% protein, such as flock feed or chick feed or a nice layer.

 

[Leasmom1013]

First Cut out all excess treats. Next leave them with only their feed, & collect eggs as soon as they're laid. Do this for a couple weeks, then start going back to normal routine(minus the treats, or reduce how often you give them.)
If there's still egg eating after going back get pinless peepers(Blinders), this prevents them from being able to look straight ahead, correcting bad habits.
Next step would be increasing protien to 18% to 20%. Often times egg eating is a sign they're not getting enough protein, or some other nutrients.

I never heard of Blinders. Where do you get them? And I was thinking it’s probably the protein levels. I’m allergic to all meats so there’s never any meat in any food scraps from me.

 

[nuthatched]

I never heard of Blinders. Where do you get them? And I was thinking it’s probably the protein levels. I’m allergic to all meats so there’s never any meat in any food scraps from me.

Amazon has them, most feed stores.
Its a short term fix at best

 

[Rillowen]

This is very good advice for the most part, is will say that beans are an excellent source of extra protein for hens, if you use northern beans soaked in baking soda water for 12 hrs before cooking it will also help correct digestive problems and boost their calcium intake. This would increase the percentage, without adding too many damaging nutrients. Nuts and seeds have high protein, but are also high in oil which can cause its own set of problems.

 

[nuthatched]

This is very good advice for the most part, is will say that beans are an excellent source of extra protein for hens, if you use northern beans soaked in baking soda water for 12 hrs before cooking it will also help correct digestive problems and boost their calcium intake. This would increase the percentage, without adding too many damaging nutrients. Nuts and seeds have high protein, but are also high in oil which can cause its own set of problems.

Baking soda doesn't do anything to beans besides soften the skin a little.
It's a nice treat but not to be given as a normal ration, if it can be helped.

 

[MysteryChicken]

I never heard of Blinders. Where do you get them? And I was thinking it’s probably the protein levels. I’m allergic to all meats so there’s never any meat in any food scraps from me.

Get a feed that's higher protein, like Chick Feed, Flock Raiser, or All flock.

Blinders can be ordered from Amazon.

 

[Rillowen]

Baking soda causes an alkaline environment which breaks down the oligosaccarides. (the complex sugars which normally require complex fermentation to break down, thus causing gas and bloating), also since it is an alkaline there is no need to counter the natural acid components created in the digestion process. Protien digestion is a naturally acid producing process, and requires alot of work from the kidneys to filter it and other toxins out, which is the main reason there is a cap on how much protien give a hen in the first place. Most creatures (including hens) use dietary OR bodily calcium to counter excess blood acid levels. Too much protein in the diet without the other properly balanced ingredients can actually cause kidney damage and make her to go into ketoacidosis, which would further deprive her of calcium and eventually cause death for too much acid in the blood. This is why when you feed 20% feed it is supposed to be for a shorter amount of time during high protein needs Like molting season, and even then you are supposed to offer extra calcium and it will still increase the chance of egg binding.
The high protien feeds you are getting mostly get their protien from soybeans, sunflower seeds and peas anyway. These are used instead of other because you can get enough protien for cheaper without causing problems, but due to the extra oil in the sunflower and soy beans, as well as the phytoestrogens in the soy, either one of those has problems as the main protien source, peas are great and offer complete protien but are more expensive than the other 2 and also have very little calcium, unlike the soy. They use this mix NOT because it is the most nutritious, but because it is the cheapest for mass production without causing high chances of problems. This mix maxes the egg production artificially with the soy (and other thibgs they put in) actually causing your hen to "burn out" faster. Hens fed on carefully constructed higher quality feed, or just allowed to get most of their nutrients from free ranging, have consistently been found to lay slightly less eggs per year but keep laying for years past the "norm" with a 5year old hen being common to still laying often. Mixing your own feed is entirely possible, and would potentially create a much more balanced and healthy diet, but requires much research and study and math. Anyone without extensive biology and nutrition background is probably not going to be able to do it. All this said, to just boost your protien amounts without causing problems, white beans soaked in baking soda water, about 1 tsp per lb, before being cooked (feel free to rinse it before cooking) is an excellent and safe way to increase the protein while not causing acid or kidney problems. You can also try meal worms or black soldier fly larvae, but you will need to offer extra calcium and not maintain it for long.