Egg Eating Chickens

Help I can't keep my chickens from eating eggs. In the last five I have changed brands of feed a couple times, completely culled my flock twice and tried several different breeds. I free feed oyster shell, they have plenty of water and room. They are free range and I even shovel an outside area in the winter. I have been around chickens for 60 years and I am baffled any suggestions?

The last batch started eating eggs when they were near the end of there productive laying days. Replaced them with new layers just reaching their prime and have had no problems. We empty the nest box right away in the morning so the eggs in some cases are still warm.

Chris

I would collect eggs early and through out the day if you can. I have also spent some time watching them and try to pick out the one that's doing it,i killed a few wrong chickens before i finally got the right one.
Good luck.

I have spent hours watching chickens catch one killed it and a few days later it starts again. Current hens should be in their prime.

There may be no correlation but the last batch of chickens had clipped beaks whereas the new flock were left natural!

Chris

Never had clipped beaks, I collect eggs during the day on the weekends but my wife and I both work during the week. Have

Put blinders on the chickens and the egg eating will stop. The cheapest place I have found to buy blinders is the National Band and Tag Company in Kentucky.

I like the pinless, blue blinders best for laying hens.

Keith

I will look them up Thanks

That's interesting about the blinders, what makes that work.

We've been lucky so far, never had an egg-eater in fifteen-plus years of keeping chickens. We routinely feed our chickens cracked or old eggs (we break them open first) but they have never broken and ate a fresh unbroken egg.

My granddaughter is in charge of gathering eggs and she's a klutz, constantly dropping and cracking eggs. We have her throw the cracked ones into the pen where they smash on the ground.

In my experience once they start the only solution is a 10 qt stewpot. I always looked for the chicken with dried yolk on its beak and you need to get right on it because the other chickens learn the behavior in short order and you'll have the whole flock doing it.

Lugnut what brand of feed do you use? People keep telling me it is something they are not getting in their diet.

That's right. Golf balls or fake eggs sometimes help. Alfalfa every week or so. Lots of oyster grit. But like he said, once one starts, it teachers the others.

a beaver or deer carcass don't hurt anything either . when the egg count falls off in winter a carcass in the pin will bring it right back up

crockpot is the only sure cure

You can try blowing the insides out and filling it with hot sauce. I've heard it works, but have never tried it.

Now that is an idea!

Chris

If it doesn't work you have preseasoned chicken!

Chris

We fed Purina Layena pellets up until last year when my wife started getting a different brand at the local Agway. We supplement with table scraps.

You can believe it or not, but feed um pork rinds, it’ll stop the egg eating, they are needing more protein in they’re diet.

out of thousands of birds in my life ive never had it happen to my knoweledge. I usually gathered eggs fairly early....n

ow he does.

There are only three options, two of which have been mentioned in clipping beaks or eating them as the cheap choices, a more expensive one is to get or build nests where the chicken lays an egg an it rolls into a covered holding tray.

Try meat scraps...like the pork rinds its high in protein, but also it's red and meaty. There will still be a teacher a lot of times, and I would find her and clip beak on her. Otherwise clip them all if you can't find her. I really like the roll out nests but don't have one, there are plans to make them fairly cheap.

My neighbor has plastic eggs in his boxes my guess they slam into them hard eggs and learn a quick lesson first time I collected egg for them I picked them up thought they were the real deal. Then notices a dot on the ends of them so you know what ones are fake!

Thats been my experience also!

I like the protein supplement idea my dad had fake eggs in the boxes but once they get a taste for blood they may kill and eat other chickens is this a late winter /early spring issue?

Rolling egg nests help keep the eggs clean and protected. No grubby feet walking on them.
Depending on your setup, it shouldn't be tough to retrofit.
A small 3" square compartment in the front for the eggs to roll into and a 1/4" plywood ramp.

They tend to crap in the rolling box's I've had. I just went back to nest box's. Mine are totes screwed to the wall the fronts are the lids with a cut out door. A 1x2 perch runs along the fronts.

Oyster shells

I've heard that a lot....I've ways provided oyster shells and gritt free choice...some hens still resort to egg eating.

We would check for yolk on beaks and clip them, we also had glass eggs to put in nests. We also fed oyster shells and ate repeat offenders.

Thanks everyone. I free feed oyster shell and have golf balls in the nests. I never thought about when it started every time but don't think it is only late winter. I guess I will be watching chickens again and butchering a few more. To bad because I could sell way more eggs then I will ever produce.

You could increase the protein intake in the food. I usually see egg cracking once or twice a year. A wood egg stops or cold every time.

Try puting ceramic eggs in where they lay they will learn not to after they peck them a few times

Sorry to hear that, SundanceMtnMan. I've been lucky enough never to have an egg eater, but I was also going to mention the roll out or roll away nest boxes. I've seen them in various catalogues.