Egg-eating chickens

[Kfish]

Hi everyone,

I have three bantams in a permanent run. They get fed laying mash, lettuce from the garden and worms from the worm farm. They also get put in a temporary run on the lawn every week or so.

Lately, they've started eating their own eggs! I went out this morning and found them all standing around happily gobbling up yolk; no matter how I yelled or waved they wouldn't leave it.

I've tried the 'fill an egg shell with mustard' trick (twice), given them extra shell grit, ground up their own egg shells and fed them back - nothing so far has worked! Has anyone solved this problem?

Kfish

[Millymollymandy]

Hi Kfish

I've not had this problem thankfully but I've read about it on other forums. Unfortunately what I've read is that once they've got a taste for eggs they won't stop and the only thing to do is cull them. Alternatively is there some way of making a nest box where the eggs roll out so they can't get at them afterwards?

[Wombat]

G'DAy Kfish,

Yeah I agree with M3 - if you can get to the eggs as soon as they are laid you have a chance - difficult!

Nev

[Guest]

I've never had chickens eat eggs that didn't break for some other reason.
But if the egg breaks they don't seem to recognise it as an egg.

Do you have one hen who hasn't laid?
In other birds (moorhens and such) which are also cooperative breeders (sharing a nest), a hen which hasn't laid an egg in the communal nest will break an egg that it finds there (I've seen it with my own eyes) until it lays one too.

[Jessica]

Hi, Once a hen has tasted an egg, she will probably appreciate the flavor so much that afterwards she will peck at every freshly laid egg , preventing this behavior is better than having to remedy it, if you gather the eggs every day.
Sometimes though unfortunately not always help to cure them. For this, you should get an egg from the hen house and make a small hole in it . Let the contents run out and fill the egg again with some liquid, of course nonpoisonous, which chickens hate, mustard with pepper for instance.
Put this egg back in the coop, you might have to keep this up for a couple of days or weeks.

I hope this might help. jessica

[Chickenlady]

I had this problem for a while, when one of the hens started laying out of the nesting box.

I started checking to see if there were any fresh eggs as often as I could so that I could take them before they had time to eat them (I think it was only one of the hens, fortunately). After a few weeks they seemed to forget that they liked the taste (no brains, y'see!!). This could be tricky if you work long hours, though.

[Jessica]

Hi another thing thats works for hens that peck eggs is if you put some golf balls in the laying nest and try to collect the hens eggs as often as you can, that way they can peck the golf balls all they like and will not be able to break the golf balls they will such soon give up. i hope this is some help.
jessica.

[nick]

a couple of things to check for when the chooks start to eat eggs (from someone who has spent a lot of time hiding and watching)
1) there may only be one who pecks the egg open but the others will help eat the contents.
2) if one of the chooks are broody and the other chooks want to lay in that box, the eggs will get knocked around a bit and more than likely one or two get broken and eaten.
3) if the chooks are moulting the eggs will be 'chalky' and therefore weaker shelled
4) what do the chooks lay eggs on? sawdust or straw - if it getting a bit low the eggs are more likely to break

[Boots]

I am a naturalist, and I copped a bit on another site when I shared what I have learned, so have been hesitant to share on this. I figure its important, and am certain it solves the problem, so feel kinda compelled to share this. Chooks (any critters actually) will seek out their own dietary needs and solutions. However this is often difficult in confinement. Chooks eat eggs when protein is reduced or unavailable in their diet, because it is the quickest and often only accessible source. If you up the protein in their diet, they stop eating eggs. I have been given "habitual egg eaters" that were headed for the chop, and have also helped others lift protein in their egg eaters diets, and honestly believe that there really are no habitual egg eaters... I am convinced they are actually chooks on insufficient diets.

There is a very bushy quick fix which involves surrendering a chook (or using a cooked one...or scraps from KFC if you are so inclined) or you can increase protein by providing silverbeet, spinach etc in bulk instead of grains, with molasses or meat meal (again if you are that way inclined). Natural environmental cures that the birds would also source themselves would be frogs, mice, hoppers etc.

All the best

[Wombat]

Thanks Boots,

That's good to know mate. I appreciate you sharing this with us.

Nev

[Boots]

Phew...Glad about that.

[Shirley]

Boots!!

I think that makes perfect sense - must admit I hadn't heard it before but THANK YOU for sharing that.

Ours don't tend to eat their eggs unless they've broken, in which case it's pretty irresistable to them I'm sure. They don't get broken very often (unless dropped when the kids are collecting) so for us it's not a problem... but will bear it in mind if it happens.

Cheers!!