How do we stop a chook eating their eggs?

Question

We have had the chooks for 12 months and they have been laying for about 6 months and recently 1 of the chooks has started to peck and eat into the eggs. This has only started in the last few days but we really don't want to encourage it. Is there any way to stop it?? Thanks

Answer 1

You really need to jump hard on this, because the other hens will soon learn from the egg eater and it's practically impossible to overcome this behaviour once it starts. People have tried filling eggs with mustard , so the offending hen gets a nasty mouthful, but you can't go on doing this for ever, and anyway, she may still be able to find and eat the good eggs the other hens are laying.

Probably the most effective strategy is to instal rollaway bases in the nestboxes. You can get plastic inserts which are set on a slope with a space underneath, so the egg rolls away out of reach of the hen once it has emerged. This is similar to what is used in commercial egg farms, and it also keeps the eggs clean. The only problem may be if your nestboxes aren't big enough to contain the rollaways.

Until you've solved the problem, one way or another, it might be necessary to isolate the egg eating hen so the others don't learn her trick. If you could separate her during the day, by fixing mesh across the run so she could still see the others, and provide her with a box to lay her own egg in, she could return to the flock overnight after they'd laid for the day.

In extreme cases, the only sure remedy may be to cull the egg eater, I'm afraid, as this bad habit is easily taught to the whole flock and then you're in real trouble.

Answer 2

What Do Chooks Eat

Answer 3

A soft nest material so they don't break when laid, oyster shell for better shells and a curtain down both sides of the nest box leaving two inches open in the center to darken the box so they can not readily see the eggs. If this didn't work for me I had roast chicken, the only sure way to stop egg eaters.

Answer 4

It could be as simple as a calcium deficiency; the chook's pecking at the shell for the shell material, supplementing it's diet. You'll have to talk to the people you get your feed from, for advice on increasing the calcium in their diet (assuming that that is the problem).

Answer 5

The hens are most likely doing this from lack of calcium in their diet. ground oyster shells can make egg shells thicker and tougher. it is quite hard to discipline this, and get them off the taste of raw egg, but i reccomend using grains and grit, and more food given. you can ground egg shells up and sneak it into their grain. (put grain, oyster shell and egg shell as well as grit into an open platter or flat based bowl)

good luck