Will a predator attack cause a young hen to stop laying?

[ChickenShepherd_6116]

I don't see any shell fragments. If she laying eggs without shells they generally do get eaten.

How do I know if she is laying eggs with no shells? She is acting totally normal, I'm just not getting any of her eggs.

 

[Not-so Slick Chicken]

You could add a camera to see if she is indeed eating eggs.

You could do the roll-away boxes. You could modify your current coop/nest boxes. Or you could block off the current nests, and build a tiny "shed" just large enough for roll-away boxes outside your coop.

These could stress your birds a bit. But egg eating will likely get worse and all the birds might learn it.
If it isn't egg eating, the stress could have caused things to not function correctly for a while maybe?

 

[Afterburner]

Yes, a stressful event can cause the hens to stop laying/start laying messed up eggs. My eight year old Barred Rock was having health problems in the coop. Once she died, the remaining hens stopped laying for nearly a week. A predator attack will cause a much bigger disruption. Give your ladies a couple of weeks to mellow down. Things should return back to normal at that time.

 

[ChickenShepherd_6116]

I heard some advice on YouTube and I'm wondering if it is actually affective in stopping an egg eater:
The first thing was blowing out an egg and filling it with mustard. Apparently chickens really don't like the taste of mustard, so this is suppose to teach them that eggs taste bad.
The second thing they said was putting ceramic eggs in the nesting box. Pretty self explanatory.
The third thing was isolating the hen who is doing the eating. I am not sure how this would help... I have a large wire dog crate that I can put her in for a while if you guys think this would help.

I like the idea of roll away boxes, I just can't do that in my coop.

 

[ChickenShepherd_6116]

I heard some advice on YouTube and I'm wondering if it is actually affective in stopping an egg eater:
The first thing was blowing out an egg and filling it with mustard. Apparently chickens really don't like the taste of mustard, so this is suppose to teach them that eggs taste bad.
The second thing they said was putting ceramic eggs in the nesting box. Pretty self explanatory.
The third thing was isolating the hen who is doing the eating. I am not sure how this would help... I have a large wire dog crate that I can put her in for a while if you guys think this would help.

I like the idea of roll away boxes, I just can't do that in my coop.

I tried doing the mustard egg thing, along with the fake egg.... She ate the mustard egg... the ENTIRE THING. I mean there was NO. TRACE. LEFT. This is the SECOND time that she has eaten a mustard egg. I guess she likes mustard now!?? I'm at my wits end with her At this point, I don't know what to do. I have her isolated from the flock, and I might try blinders.
Any advice for this?? I might even create a thread about this.

 

[Afterburner]

I tried doing the mustard egg thing, along with the fake egg.... She ate the mustard egg... the ENTIRE THING. I mean there was NO. TRACE. LEFT. This is the SECOND time that she has eaten a mustard egg. I guess she likes mustard now!?? I'm at my wits end with her At this point, I don't know what to do. I have her isolated from the flock, and I might try blinders.
Any advice for this?? I might even create a thread about this.

You could try putting her with a nest of ceramic eggs. The thinking is that the hen will try to peck the eggs open to eat them. After a while, she will just give up and think the eggs are all too hard to break. I have never had an egg eater, so I don't know if this works but it is worth a try.

 

[LaFleche]

I tried doing the mustard egg thing, along with the fake egg.... She ate the mustard egg... the ENTIRE THING. I mean there was NO. TRACE. LEFT. This is the SECOND time that she has eaten a mustard egg. I guess she likes mustard now!?? I'm at my wits end with her At this point, I don't know what to do. I have her isolated from the flock, and I might try blinders.
Any advice for this?? I might even create a thread about this.

She could be in need of some calcium citrate 600 +vitamin D tablets to help building proper egg shells.
Just grab her from the roost at night and pop one tablet inside her beak for 7-10 days to see if calcium deficiency caused the shell less eggs and the new habit of eating them.

 

[ChickenShepherd_6116]

You could try putting her with a nest of ceramic eggs. The thinking is that the hen will try to peck the eggs open to eat them. After a while, she will just give up and think the eggs are all too hard to break. I have never had an egg eater, so I don't know if this works but it is worth a try.

I have her separated from the flock, with a ceramic egg. Either she hasn't yet laid an egg today, or she ate it anyway.

 

[ChickenShepherd_6116]

She could be in need of some calcium citrate 600 +vitamin D tablets to help building proper egg shells.
Just grab her from the roost at night and pop one tablet inside her beak for 7-10 days to see if calcium deficiency caused the shell less eggs and the new habit of eating them.

Thats a good idea! Where can I get them? Also, can she eat tablets made for humans?

 

[LaFleche]

Thats a good idea! Where can I get them? Also, can she eat tablets made for humans?

You can give her tablets for humans which you will find in the vitamins & minerals isle of your grocery store.
Just sit her on your lap her head facing forward, grab her wattles with one hand and pull down until she opens her beak, immediately pop the tablet into her beak and let go of her wattles so she can swallow.
Repeat every evening until her eggs have a proper eggshell.