Egg eaters?

[Scottishnewbie]

We got some hens a few months ago from a local organic place that sells them off cheap when they stop laying every day. They still lay plenty for a family our size and all's been well till recently.

They free ranged over the winter but we've had to restrict their area a few weeks ago as they keep going into our neighbours garden and he's been round to complain (in a decent sort of way but think he was hacked off nonetheless).

They still have quite a bit area but nothing like free range and their egg count has gone downhill rapidly. For the first few weeks they were pretty much the same - well probably more actually as they were actually laying in the same place and we werent having to hunt them down anymore...but last couple of weeks there's been next to nothing...other than guilty looks and some sticky stuff of a yellow/orange colour in the bottom of the nesting box.

So I'm pretty sure they have got the taste of egg.

Any ideas as to how to stop them please? (Not always practiical to be around every hour or so to see what's been laid and remove it).

Thanks

Laura

[MaureenHall]

Is the shell still around for you to have a look at? If so, is it the normal thickness or is it a thin-shelled one? sometimes the thin-shelled ones break easily either when they're laid or when one of the chooks sits or stands on it. If that's the case, then yes, they will eat the contents. If it's a normal egg with a normal shell and they're breaking into them, then there's been various suggestions how to deal with it.

You could "blow" an egg and fill it with mustard, apparently they don't like the taste and it should put them off.

Make the nestbox have a slope towards the back so the egg rolls away and the chooks find it difficult to get at

Put some china eggs in the nestbox and hopefully they'll peck at that and give up after getting nowhere (that worked for mine)

There's probably loads more suggestions on their way. I hope you manage to get it sorted out soon

[Suechooks]

Maybe they've come to a natural break in laying and have been laying thin/soft shelled eggs which have broken as Maureen has said.
My ex-batts eat the soft or broken eggs but don't attempt to break the "normal" ones.

[roitelet]

Sorry to have to say this but the only real solution is the Grim Reaper. If you can identify the culprit then it's only one. A friend had the same problem and in the end she had to consign all of them to the pot.

Once they start it's almost impossible to stop them!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[lizzylemon]

I've seen a contraption that's a nesting box but with a sloped floor (to the back of nestbox) that then has a padded gully with a slide type thing which allows the eggs to roll gently to the back of the nestbox, down into the gully and then into a collection area away from the hens.

I can't remember where or when, or what it was called - sorry!! But I'll keep thinking (it's aaaaaaallllways a slow process with me) and let you know if I remember more / a web site.

In the mean time, some people fill empty shells with mustard (nasty taste) or just keep checking as often as possible.

[lizzylemon]

Ha!!! Not quite what I was thinking of but it looks like it might work.

Poultry Nest Boxes | Rollaway Nest Box Insert

[Scottishnewbie]

Thanks Lizzylemon and others. I've ordered the roll away thingy so hope that might help. Have already tried most of the other suggestions without any degree of success at all and was afraid that 'grim reaper' may end up being the only solution.......so NOT what i wanted to do but need to be realistic i suppose and no point in adding to the group as the old ones will only trach any new ones the same trick i guess.

no shells lying around so think they are eating the lot. i check as often as i can but just not around all day unfortunately.

will kepp you posted

many thanks

laura

Ha!!! Not quite what I was thinking of but it looks like it might work.

Poultry Nest Boxes | Rollaway Nest Box Insert

[Flummery]

If they are eating the lot is suggests they are calcium deficient maybe? I'd try adding a little cod liver oil to their food and sprinking it with limestone flour for a few days.

[Bephlam]

Oh no...I had an egg eating problem and solved it without culling. Glutton suggested putting TONS of bedding in their nest box, in case they are breaking them by mistake and then being typical nosey chickens and eating them!

I removed more often...added more bedding...increased grit and calcium...and voila...we don't have the egg eating problem. The only time they do it is if one of the girls produce a softie...then they eat it.

[Suechooks]

If they are eating the lot is suggests they are calcium deficient maybe? I'd try adding a little cod liver oil to their food and sprinking it with limestone flour for a few days.

I agree with Flummery. If there's no shell left then it's likely they are laying "softies" or extremely thin fragile shells.
Give them a couple of weeks on the limestone flour - at least that'll give them a chance.

[Scottishnewbie]

thanks peeps. I'll wait for the new box thing (and let you know how it goes), I'll also try the flour and cod liver oil and the extra straw (or should I use something else?) - i have shavings for the horses so i could use that if it was likely to make a difference - anyone got any suggestions?

[Bephlam]

Straw is good...although I don't use it myself. I just put a really thick layer of easibed/hemcore down. Does the trick...!

[Scottishnewbie]

Well I tried everything I could think of for the last 2 months and nothing seemed to make any difference. I tried: hard boiled eggs; blown eggs with mustard in them; porcelain and rubber eggs; bought a new laying roll away box; checking 500 times a day; taking them out one by one to find the 'culprit'; using limestone flour in their mash; and nothing stopped them eating their own eggs. At one point I was practically living in their area with them it was so bad.

But last weekend we finally had to make the hard decision that one egg a day (if we were lucky) from 8 chickens just wasn't sensible. Luckily we didn't have to do the deed ourselves and the local cattleman dispatched our girls for us. I felt terribly guilty but buying eggs from Tesco just wasn't sensible.

We now have 6 new laydees, obviously I am paranoid and am in with them about 20 times a day to remove their SIX, yes SIX eggs a day! I had almost forgotten that hens lay almost daily.......

Still feel extremely guilty but it was the right thing to do if we are really serious about the whole country life bit...........wasn't it?

[MaureenHall]

Persistent egg eating is as you found out an extremely difficult if not impossible habit to break. If you got your girls so that you'd have lovely fresh eggs as well as interesting pets, then yes, I think you did the right thing and you shouldn't feel guilty. Are you having the old girls as dinner? If not, then I think that'd be a sad waste

[Scottishnewbie]

I couldn't. We did talk about it but if felt a bit like eating the children! Decided not to get attached to the new lasses (we'll see!) so it should be easier next time round (hopefully a long time away).

Many thanks for all your advice though....at least I knew we'd tried to solve the problem.