Breaking and eating eggs.

[Frana]

Hi all,

I have never had to ask any advice on my chucks before as I have never had any issues with them before.

But in recent weeks I have noticed that there has been a distinct lack of eggs. They are clearly laying as I have noticed broken shells in the nest box every day but as the eggs are broken, the girls are eating them!

They are Warrens, and they are two and a half years old and appear very healthy. I have sought advice from my local feed supplier and was advised to use a finer grit as shells become thinner with age, thus they are breaking easier, and the finer grit will help in ensuring they digest it and thus strengthen the shells.

I have indeed done this but still the same thing is happening on a daily basis.

I have five birds and there is plenty of space for them as the pen is very large.

I appreciate age could be a factor, but as it has only just started, I think it may be a behavioural issue - any advice please!

I do go to the birds every day to feed them and they get ample greens, corn mix and layers pellets.

[Scarlet]

Is it egg shell quality or have you got a chicken with a taste for eggs? What is the shell like on the eggs that you have collected? Have you wormed them?

If the shells are thin, you could add a little cod liver oil in their food to help with calcium uptake. Have oyster shell available an add a little ACV in their water. Crushed up egg shells in their food can also help. Cut down on treats with just a handful of corn late afternoon.

If you've got an egg eater - make sure you collect eggs promptly as this is a difficult habit to break. Go several times a day to collect. You can use roll away nest boxes or make sure their best boxes are in the dark, staple some strips of fabric to the outside of the boxes so they can't see mych when they are in there.

[Frana]

Hi Scarlet,

The egg shells appear to be of the normal quality and not unusually thin. Admittedly I haven't wormed them and yes it does appear that there is a mysterious egg eater among them!

Someone suggested a rubber egg - any suggestions?

[roitelet]

Sorry to say egg eating is almost impossible to cure. If you can find the culprit and isolate it it may help but at the end of the day there is only one solution, dispatch.

Richmond Hens will be along soon with some good advice.

[Scarlet]

If its only recently started you may be able to stop her but as Roitelet says it is a habit that is certainly difficult to break. Try the dark boxes, roll away nest boxes, some people try rubber eggs, ive tried chilli/ mustard filled eggs but if you can collect them often so that she cannot eat them, she may forget but you need to be on top of it every day for at least a month.

And worming is very important - you will get problems if you don't do it on a regular basis

[RichmondHens]

If you only have one culprit the easiest solution would be to separate her and see if you can break her by offering mustard filled eggs or golf balls etc, but if the habit has spread to them all then you have a difficult task on your hands.

Prompt egg collection is essential, as is keeping the nestboxes dark, although the culprit may very well just turn round and eat the egg she has just laid. I think if it gets to this point the only answer is to cull.

The usual causes of egg eating are boredom and/or lack of protein. Ensure you feed a good quality pellet and not too many treats or corn (a scattering pre roost is plenty). Also ensure there is plenty of greenery available for them to peck at. If your hens are not kept on grass then they need alternative greenstuff hung up for them to peck at. Their beaks need to be kept busy constantly. Think about entertainment for them - log piles/branches to play on, lots of stuff to scratch about in etc. You don't say how big your run is but if they are in there 24/7 then it may not be big enough.

[kathyd]

I'm sure this is just a red herring, but I found 2 eggs the other day which had clearly been pecked, and most of the contents eaten. However, it didn't look like a 'professional hen pecking' job, so to speak. The eggs had been rolled out of the nest boxes before being pecked, and were only partially-pecked, not smashed in and in pieces. It also happened on the day we were away from the house all afternoon. Interestingly, some of my birds have taken to laying in different places over the past few days too, and I'm actually convinced it was a pair of magpies or jays which have taken up residence nearby during the nesting season, and seem to spend quite a bit of time pinching food from in the run.

Just thinking that if your birds have never eaten their eggs before, and if you have large wild birds in the vicinity, it may be that your own birds aren't to blame... probably a bit of wishful thinking, but may be worth consideration?

[mothhawk]

Make sure you haven't got rats too!

[Linzy]

Look on ebay they sell rubber and china eggs. My chicks did this last year and my other half got a wood whittler thingy and produced a wooden egg and that stopped them doing it almost instantly.

[pipscariad]

I feel your pain @Frana, mine have just got into this habit after one hen starting laying softies and they got a taste for raw egg. The girl who was consistently laying soft shelled eggs bit the dust yesterday, but the other two have now got into the egg pecking. Their eggs are a bit thin-shelled so I've started feeding crushed baked shell mixed with their layers pellets, but it is such a pain. It's harder as they aren't at the house but down at the plot a mile and a half away, so I can't check the nest box as often as I'd like. I have a rubber egg, so will take that down today and see if that helps.

[Frana]

Thanks for all the advice folks. gonna try a couple of remedies that have been suggested - especially the rubber egg trick.

If it carries on will just have to look after the girls as they are and buy my eggs - ain't got the heart to finish em off!