Kitchen Garden Forum

Hi to all,

I need some help please one of my hens has started to eat her eggs why does this happen and how can I stop it

Kind Regards


Kevin

You need to collect as often as possible or have rollaway nestboxes, some folk swear by blowing an egg an filling it with hot mustard, I have never had this problem luckily, but must be stopped soon as 1 hen will teach the others the bad habit and you will get no eggs !

Hello Kevin
Fortunately I only get this problem when one of the hens lays a soft shelled egg and it gets broken accidentally then, of course, eaten.
Chickens should have a dark place to lay because if they can see the eggs clearly in a well-lit egg box apparently they are much more likely to take a peck at them. If they are using an egg box with access through a pop hole in the coop, you could try hanging thin strips of black plastic over it (e.g. bin liner stuff) to make it darker inside the coop. The birds soon get the idea of pushing their way in past these strips to get into the coop. This is always a good idea anyway as it also deters thieving magpies. Have you thought that it might even be magpies doing the damage and not a hen?

John

Hi Kevin

My experience is exactly the same as John's - ie only soft-shelled eggs get eaten. When you say one of your hens has started eating her eggs, do you know for certain which hen and whose eggs and whether they were soft- or hard-shelled?
I am not sure there is a solution to the problem of a compulsive egg eater - other than the final one of you eating her.
If you have identified a particular hen, try John's suggestions.

Alan

could the problem be a calcium deficiancy as soft eggs normally point to the lack of calcium , so the hen is eating the egg as it's only source of calcium to make more eggs ( so the endless cycle)

Calcium deficiency could be a problem do you feed them on layers pellets or mash ? if mash and they are free ranging they may not be eating enough of the mash, mine free range and have pellets but I also bake egg shells in the oven then crush and feed back to the hens they always go mad for it, I have kept hens for 30+ years various breeds starting with ex batts and now Silkies and Guinea Fowl though I have had the odd soft shell never had egg eating problems but I also cover my nest boxes with towels cut into strips. Hope you can sort it.

Hi to all

Thank you all for your advice Gilly your idea sounds a little bit wicked but might just work but I will leave for another day John and Alan your comments are bang on, one of the hens is laying soft shelled eggs and as Carlseawolf has said soft shelled eggs are due to a lack of calcium, So how do I correct it, they are fed on layers pellets and they also have tray of oystershell grit, also they get some treats like rice/pasta every now and then.

John as for the magpies the hens are in an enclosed run but I will try hanging the strips of black plastic you recommend

Once again thank you all for your help

Kind Regards & Best wishes

Kevin

Hi Kevin

I wouldn't worry if it is only soft-shelled eggs that are being eaten. You wouldn't want them anyway. Only worry if normal eggs are eaten. As for a solution to soft-shelled eggs, you are doing all you can, and I can think of nothing else. I don't provide grit as my hens and ducks are free-range and find their own. And enjoy snail shells.

Alan

Hello again Kevin
I agree with Alan. You are giving your birds all the right stuff and as only one bird is causing you trouble I don't think that it's a dietary problem in this case. Birds do occasionally lay a few soft eggs, sometimes at the start or finish of their laying period, after a change of routine or just through old age. They soon get back to normal.
If you are getting soft-shelled eggs fairly regularly from her then it might be a sign of some internal problem. There's not much you can do in that case and sadly she will have to be dispatched.

John

PS You could separate the culprit and keep her in a 'naughty coop' during the day, if you have one, to see if she can get back to normal i.e. deal with her like you would a broody hen.

I was unfortunate to have this problem once, when a kind child had put stones in my nesting boxes & I blieve an egg cracked, whcih gave a hen a taste for it, before I knew it I had 6 hens eating eggs, despite a good diet/good ranging area etc etc. The only solution that did work was to put a mixture of mustard & curry powder paste into an egg and then stand back! Thats how I know it was all 6 for certain, becuase they were all showing signs of having tried some. So it is a cruel to be kind method. The alternative is to cull the hen for the pot. This did work. But, do ensure a dark spot and try & establish why it started. Make sure yo stop it quickly one way or anotehr before it gets out of hand!

We've used the English Mustard trick in the past and it's worked.

We had the problem for the first time last year and it was incredibly frustrating. We put mustard and peri-peri in the eggs and it half-worked. However, and I'm crossing my fingers as I say this, after the winter break in egg laying they haven't started to eat their eggs this year and we haven't culled any hens.. fingers crossed.