If you raise chickens you will probably have an instance of the chickens eating their own eggs.
The prevention and the cure both involve giving the chickens calcium. Generally this is oyster shell. This ground shell should be provided at all times. I almost chuckle at this as I had hens and I had a small feeder with oyster shell in it and I don’t think it was touched for 5 years.
I did find that they would consume a small amount if I sprinkled some in their feed.
Generally the thing that is noticed is there are some eggs with extremely brittle shells, or sometimes they are so soft they are basically covered with just the membrane, and not shell at all.
If the egg gets broken, it almost always get eaten.
It is a common suggestion to feed old egg shells to the chickens. Do not feed shells if they are in a recognizable condition such as just broken in half. Grind them to at least small pieces, if not almost to powder, or just don’t recycle them and put them in the trash.
A darkened nest can help keep chickens from starting to eat eggs and I believe it even helps discourage the practice. I did try hanging light cloth curtains over the nest openings, but I never did convince the chickens that they could just push through them and most of them would lay their eggs on the floor.
I use a “Massachusetts Dark Nest’” which is quite dark already and a curtain can be put over the opening, but again, I had trouble getting the chickens to push it aside and lay in the nest.
I have read that they eat eggs because they get bored, but I think the real reason is that for one reason or another an egg gets broken and eaten. Once a hen finds out that they are good to eat they usually continue, or worse, they get the rest of the flock following suit. The more nests or the fewer chickens per nest is one of the best ways to help with broken eggs and egg eating by your flock.
I tried breaking an egg, filling it with pepper, Tabasco, and anything I had that was hot through a small hole, then taping the hole, but the chicken still ate eggs.
Usually it is quite difficult to tell which one is eating the eggs, but if there are two or three hens around the broken egg, they will all have a taste and soon be eating them also. If I catch one eating eggs, she becomes chicken pie. I have not had great success in breaking them of the habit. If you get more than one or two eating eggs, they will probably get more eggs than you do. I do know in time, and not that long of a time, the whole flock will begin dining on the eggs. It should be stopped immediately.
I do recommend more nests than what is actually needed. I have found that in almost all circumstances the room requirements for roosts, floor space, feeder space, nesting boxes, or anything else are minimums. I always allow at least 20% more than recommended. An example is that a nest for 4 hens is recommended. I always have 5 or 6. So many problems are caused by inadequate room.
When watching for a hen that is eating eggs you should be aware that it can be a rooster as well. I have never had one that ate eggs, but I do know from others that they in fact do.
Regardless of what you do to stop them from eating eggs, it is imperative that you do it as quickly as possible.
Tags: Chickens Eating Eggs