Archive for Downsizer For an ethical approach to consumption
 


       Downsizer Forum Index -> Poultry
moggiethou

Hens eating their eggs

I have 10 hens, who have recently taken to eating their own eggs, and the Ducks eggs too.

I will be separating the Ducks from the hens, so that will sort that problem out.

Any ideas on how to stop them- a friend has told me that once they get into the habit they will never stop, and that a mass cull is called for. I think that may be a bit extreme Shocked

Any suggestions welcome Exclamation
Bodger

There are a few things that you can try before you have to swing the axe.
First of all make the nest box area as dark as possible.

You can have the tips of their beaks removed.

Finally you can also have some spectacles fitted to them. They are a contraption that fits into the birds nostrils that work as blinkers. These will be available either from a friendly game keeper who uses them on his pheasant poults to stop feather pecking or from your agricultural merchant.
If you have ten chickens its unlikely that they will all be at it , so another thing to do is to ID the culprit and isolate it in a cooking pot. Very Happy
random

egg eating can be a hard habit to break once it's established behaviour. I'd agree with Bodgers suggestion of making the nest box as dark as possible. I know people who have used cheap car mats cut into 1cm strip fringes to make a type of curtain and placed this over the nest box entrance with some success at breaking this habit.

Other things to try:
remove eggs as soon as possible after laying, they can't eat what isn't there Smile

rubber or ceramic eggs or even golf balls left in the nest box, the chicken can't break them and eventually get bored

roll away nest boxes (from Ascott or Wells Poultry Housing)

things that I think don't work:

adding curry powder to an eggs, I don't think hens have much in the way of taste as a sense. In fact the victorians used paprika in hen feed to enhance yolk colour.

Seperating out the culprit may be your only solution, this can be learned behaviour so try as soon as possible if you don't want the whole lot getting in on the act
Home on the Hill

Egg eating is sometimes a symptom of boredom. Try and provide playthings for your hens - stuff to climb on, greens to peck at, bushes to hide under. Anything that makes the run a bit more interesting.

That as well as the other tips - and removing the culprit if you can work out which one it is.

Beth
moggiethou

Thanks for the suggestions so far.

I have already isolated 2 culprits, so they awaiting trial- one has started laying again, and is not eating her own eggs, hen number 2 is under observation- they are guilty until proven innocent!

I like the idea of spectacles. I can imagine the blank faces in Agrial if I go and ask for 'lunettes pour poules'. Question

Their nest boxes are already quite dark, but I could make the area a bit darker, so that will be the next thing to try.

I don't think my hens are bored, they have plenty to amuse themselves with in the orchard.

I will let you know what happens.
chez

The roll away nest-box thing is not that expensive I don't think.

I read an article somewhere that said that when you fit turkeys with rose-tinted spectacles they are 30% more accurate picking up food and therefore fatten quicker. I had a scary image of turkeys wielding lorgnettes ... but Bodger's description makes much more sense Smile.
judith

One last suggestion - do they have enough calcium in their diet? They could possibly be laying soft-shelled eggs that crack easily, which will almost guarantee egg-eating.
lottie

Adding curry powder to eggs might not work but blowing an egg and filling it with liquid english mustard sometimes does.
Pea

I made my own roll away nest boxes, far cheaper then Ascott.

Good luck

Pea
fenwoman

moggiethou wrote:
Thanks for the suggestions so far.

I have already isolated 2 culprits, so they awaiting trial- one has started laying again, and is not eating her own eggs, hen number 2 is under observation- they are guilty until proven innocent!

I like the idea of spectacles. I can imagine the blank faces in Agrial if I go and ask for 'lunettes pour poules'. Question

Their nest boxes are already quite dark, but I could make the area a bit darker, so that will be the next thing to try.

I don't think my hens are bored, they have plenty to amuse themselves with in the orchard.

I will let you know what happens.


Have you tried adding more calcium to the diet? Sometimes a calcium deficient bird will eat the egg shell to try to get what she needs. Yes I know poultry food has it added and in theory poultry grit has it too but if the bird doesn't take enough of the grit or if that particular one needs more than the others then adding it helps. Over here, I add limestone flour to my feed mix for calcium. It's cheap and effective.
You wouldn't have to go to the place over there. Just buy some online. They are called 'poultry bits'. Bit, as in horse bit. They are cheap and easy to put on. Leave in place for several weeks, then remove to check if the problem has been solved.
Blue Sky

We had the problem of egg-eating last year when we introduced a new batch of hens to our existing layers henshed. It was right in the middle of the avian flu scare so we had no choice but to put the new ones with the old. after a few short weeks the smaller birds (not yet layers) decided that the eggs of the layers were a delicacy and we got no more eggs. Took us a while to figure out why but once I caught one of them in the act we separated them and the original egg layers returned to normal production within a day or two (phew). This year if we decide to get new/young stock for layers or for meat I will be keeping them separate from our five remaining birds so that at least we will still have eggs.

This may or my not be of help
moggiethou

The Ducks have very cleverly solved the problem of their eggs being instantly devoured- they climb the ladder and lay in the nest boxes. I have adapted the nest box area, making it dark and this seems to have done the trick Very Happy

Thanks for all the advice Exclamation
judith

Glad the problem seems to have resolved itself.
Clever ducks!
       Downsizer Forum Index -> Poultry
Page 1 of 1
Home Home Home Home Home