What do i do with this hen!?

[Mutchi]

I found out a hen is eating eggs. Can I lock her up and take the eggs she lays and keep the locked up till she hopefully forgets what eggs tast like?

 

[sourland]

They don't 'forget'. Darken the nest boxes or employ roll away nest boxes.

 

[Mutchi]

They don't 'forget'. Darken the nest boxes or employ roll away nest boxes.

Ya, I guess I can put up a couple curtains!

 

[Mutchi]

What are roll away boxes?

 

[sixlittlechickens]

I’ve heard that you can blow out eggs and fill them with mustard. When they try to eat the egg, it tastes bad instead. Hope this helps!

 

[Mutchi]

I’ve heard that you can blow out eggs and fill them with mustard. When they try to eat the egg, it tastes bad instead. Hope this helps!

I did it with hot sauce... and they gobbled it up like monsters!

 

[NatJ]

Do you have fake eggs in the nests?

If you collect the real eggs several times a day, but always leave fake eggs in the nests, the hen can try over and over to eat the fake ones-- but it doesn't work. She might decide that eggs aren't worth the bother.

(And even if the fake eggs do not re-train the hen, they do not cause any new problems.)


Also check to be sure the hen is getting enough food, and enough protein.
--Be sure you are feeding a complete chicken food with enough protein (at least 16%, but up to 20% or even a little higher is also fine.)
--If the chickens run out of food each day, she may not get enough.
--Or if they get lots of scratch or other low-protein treats, she may fill up on that and not eat enough of the correctly balanced chicken food.
--Or if the other chickens chase this one away from the feed, she may not get enough feed even if it's always there (if that is the case, try adding more feeders.)

 

[rosemarythyme]

What are roll away boxes?

Boxes with a slanted floor and a closed holding area to catch the eggs.

Random commercial example: https://bestnestbox.com/products/la...unity-nest-box-reversible?variant=38757296516

You can also DIY your own if that's your thing.