Head over heart!!

[Ger-annie-um]

We have a lovely chook...Hannah, Black rock type. Unfortunately Hannah has pretty much always laid soft/thin shelled eggs, but now she's started eating the eggs. We've tried just about everything, extra oyster shell ( she turned up her beak at that). We ground the grit down, sprayed the layers pellets with a bit of water and then tossed them in the ground grit so it was a bit more unavoidable. We've tried blacking out the nesting box with a curtain and even starting feeding milk (it was an internet tip, no idea what the thinking is behind it but I'll give anything a go).

What else can I do?.......OH is all for chicken soup, (head bit) but she's so lovely, a real character - I'm probably a bit soft.(heart bit)..................... HELP

[Scarlet]

Once they get a taste for it, egg eating is very difficult to stop and the other hens can start too. Dark nest boxes usually work. Have you tried golf balls in the nest box? She'll peck at some and won't get to eat anything. Or fill a an egg with chilli sauce/ Tabasco . Make sure you collect the eggs often. If none of that works, let me know and I'll come to yours for tea. Personally I wouldn't keep an egg either.

[muddled]

ground up eggshells and/or oyster shell in a bit of mashed potato?
(all mine fall for that one whenever they need medicine or worming)

Is she only eating her own, soft, easy access eggs or has she started on normal shelled eggs too? If it's just hers then the others may not copy...may not even recognise it as an egg at all.

Also thinking; when one of mine lays a softie, they tend to look really miserable and hunched beforehand. I think if each egg made her feel poorly or painful, that would sway my decision more than the egg eating.

[fishpond]

If she is only eating her own eggs & you have never had an egg from her, what is there to miss.
I would let her get on with her life and sit back and enjoy the antics.
If it helps, my cluckies egg laying is not constant at the moment and hasn't been for months, but they do what they do and I enjoy watching them.

[Nicos]

A few thoughts...

you say her eggs have always had poor shells?
Is she having too many treats and not a proper balanced diet ( ie quality layers pellets)
If not, then it may just be her make up.

You could try giving her treats which are high in calcium
eg broccoli , kale,cauli ( all brassicas)/apricots/figs ( maybe free, old ones?)/ sardines/salmon ( not too much as you may get a fishy flavour in any eggs she lays)/ dandelions/ live yoghurt/cheese .
...but again not too many.
This might make a difference.

Can you get hold of/make a roll away nesting box.
this is a simple one-

(so the 'nest' is sloping down)

there are loads of piccies on gooogle


I suppose it depends how old she is and how much room you have for a pet hen as opposed to a laying hen???

Seems sad to get rid of her if you have the space.

[kathyd]

Provided she's not eating everyone else's eggs as well, I'd keep her as a pet - I've hung onto all sorts of 'waste of spacers' in the past because I see them more as 'friends' than food providers. But obviously I'm not doing this for a living, it's more a kind of hobby for me .

[Scarlet]

The problem with letting them "just eat their own" is that they leave egg shell and smeared egg around so the other hens often pick up the habit. If you have the time, collecting them as soon as she lays does work as they will forget about it although if they are fragile they often break when they get up, chickens are clumsy, the others are likely to join in if they are around.

[Ger-annie-um]

Thanks for all the replies.
I've made 'blackout curtains', put false eggs in the nest box and I'm going in to check for eggs every half hour (little b**ger waited until my back was turned and then ate her egg). The las time she took and shell outside and 'shared' it.
All three hens have a good quality layers pellet and we don't go mad with treats, in fact for the last 2 weeks none at all. I'll try the high calcium food for a week or two and see what happens, presumably that's the reason for the dish of milk.
We're thinking of replacing the coop so we can have a few more chooks so I'll look into the rollaway nest box too - silly question but in order to 'roll away' would that mean no nesting material in the nest box and do the eggs not crack.

[Nicos]

Not tried the roll aways myself but looking at the various piccies on gooogle most seem to either have a plastic mesh ( which seems a bit hard under foot to me!) or a piece of synthetic grass ( which could be washed etc and replaced when nec.

It looks like the straw etc is put where the eggs roll down to???

[Ger-annie-um]

Update..............as it's been so hot these last few days not one of our 3 girls has laid an egg. Heres hoping that by the time they starting laying eggs again Hannah will have forgotten about eating them and gained a reprieve. I can only live in hope!

[fishpond]

Mine have also stopped laying.

[Glutton4...]

Check for mites! It's that time of year.

[fishpond]

Just the weather.

[frias]

My lot are in full laying mode despite the hot weather. Even the Welsummer who's 6 years old is popping them out regularly.

[Scarlet]

My old Maran can't be bothered but I'm getting plenty of eggs at the moment.