Some of the links on this site are affiliate links, such as Amazon links. This can be done by making small holes at the top and bottom of the egg and blowing out the insides with a drinking straw. And as an Amazon Associate, we earn a commission on qualifying purchases after clicking on those links, at no additional cost to you. I wanted those eggs for myself! Its a gorgeous, sunny day, and your girls are busy chasing down bugs and scratching for hidden titbits. This makes the eggs less likely to break and makes it less likely that a hen will discover how tasty they are. Tried mustard, vinegar. The new orchard space is, Pinching back flower seedlings promotes s, Save 15% on our organic Bug Off Balm, a natur, Artichokes castin' their spell on me We've al, Wanna be friends? Why Chickens Eat Their Eggs: 11 Reasons & How to Stop It If you feed hens eggshells for calcium, smash them to a powder so the chickens don't associate them with eggs. As she pecks an egg from another hen, she makes a hole. Did they have any trouble finding the nests? Once chickens have a taste for eggs, then they are going to be doing their best to get their beaks upon them as often as possible. Hi Kyle, we are glad to hear your chickens are getting their calcium now and have stopped eating their eggs, however, it is best to have the egg shells or oyster shells in a separate dish from their feed so the the birds can eat it as free choice as you want them to eat it as they need it. Eating those eggs once they are broken is common practice for an anxious bird. First triel I added just mustard: 2 chickens tried it and jumped away shaking heads and trying to clean their beaks but they returned and ATE the mustard and the eggshell. Keep eggshells strong by feeding the hens a calcium supplementusually sold as oyster shellsin a free-choice feeder. I love all aspects of country living. Valance curtains are already about the right height, and can easily be cut and hemmed into shorter sections. Obviously, provide them with access to their nesting box, but you dont want them to be sticking around too long. Keep your chickens entertained and they will be less likely to discover egg eating. So, once you have spotted your chicken eating eggs, how can you deal with the problem? When youre keeping backyard chickens for eggs and the laying chickens dont provide eggs, some people will have a no tolerance policy and take measures to cull an offending chicken immediately. Ive moved the carrier around the coop and for whatever reason it changed their habit of all squishing in, and we havent seen a broken/eaten egg in almost two months!! Most layer feed contains 16 to 18% percent protein. Another extreme measure is to clip the very end of your hens beak. You can sell them to a slaughter house. Come on over for a garden mani ~, Mulch plays a huge role in plant and soil hea, Some of the links on this site are affiliate links, such as Amazon links. Decrease your incubator's temperature by 1F. Then, squeeze yellow mustard inside the empty shell, and place the mustard-filled egg in the nesting box. If your chickens are eating eggs, they are often looking for nutrients: protein, calcium, fat. I will only link to products I know and believe in! Collect eggs early in the day. My hens were starting to eat their eggs, too. Recycling eggshells helps to provide calcium to your hens, but it can also show hens that eggs are edible. This seems to help mine. Along the same lines, be careful about feeding hens eggshells. But, I have found this to be untrue with my flock. Use Ceramic or Wooden Eggs In the Nesting Boxes, Ceramic and wooden eggs wont break and reward chickens for pecking at them, Fake eggs help chickens know where to lay eggs, It discourages egg predators such as snakes and rats, 7. Since eggs contain a large amount of water, your chickens may be resorting to eating them simply to keep themselves hydrated. How to Stop Chickens from Eating Their Eggs - Backyard Poultry Roxanne Ahern on Instagram: "We got the chicks for our new laying flock There really is nothing like a fresh egg. Ceramic eggs are always available in the nesting boxes. If you are intent on raising older birds that may be problematic, you may need to put them in a separate area. I tried putting up curtains in the nest boxes, added sunflower seeds to their diet, extra thick bedding and making sure to fluff it up every evening so it would be thick in thr morning, and voila! You can also mix them with oyster shells. Place a Decoy Egg in the Nesting Box - This is often a suggestion given for encouraging young hens to start laying eggs. Boredom Hens will get up to mischief when they are bored! Their 13-year old son tried infusing hot sauce into some Trojan Horses to undo the taste for fresh eggs, but that only added fun seasoning for the egg-hungry hens. 1. So, you understand why, when I found that one of my chickens had eaten one of her eggs, I was annoyed. Thats great to hear Valencia and I am sure a real relief for you! So what happens when the chickens have figured out the golf balls and fake eggs are fake and just kicke them out of the box and continue to eat the eggs? First, we got chickens, then ducks. I guess her starvation for calcium is no more. There are 15 steps that you can take to discourage egg eating by your hens. Why Do Chickens Eat Their Eggs? Remove or block off the nest where the eggs are being eaten. Picking and throwing weeds into the coop is easy and will distract bored hens. You can also scramble up some eggs to feed back to your chickens. This can be done by putting your offending chickens in a chicken tractor if they are used to free-roaming. Thank you for tuning in! Its great for gardening. Why chickens eat their eggs, how to stop chickens from eating eggs Too little nesting boxes for your flock of hens can introduce egg eating. Yolks, eggs, and egg whites over the nesting box and materials creates an invitation for hens to eat eggs. Ceramic and wooden eggs can helpt to stop egg eating as well as prevent it. The more finely they are crushed, them less likely hens are to recognize eggshells as eggs. Feed Your Flock A Layer Feed To Ensure They Get Enough Protein, Hens need at least 16% protein in their diet to stay healthy while laying eggs, 2. This disruption to the time spent with the eggs may break the egg-eating cycle. If your chicken is acting erratically you may have a parasite problem. If you do this, there is less chance of the eggs cracking which, of course, means that the chickens are less likely to get a taste for the eggs! 2023, Countryside - All Rights Reserved, Ask the Expert December 2014/January 2015. 7 Reasons Why Chickens Peck Holes in Their Eggs Hatcheries for laying hens sort chicks by sex a day after hatching, with male chicks being culled immediately. Hopefully the nasty surprise will turn them off for good! Most chicken owners that I know feed their chickens eggshells. Completely stop turning your eggs and leave them alone with the wide end of the egg facing upwards. The Big Family Homestead gets a visit from Prepsteader Bob to help figure out how to stop our chickens from eating eggs. I also debated on purchasing these wooden eggs because they come in white and brown in one purchase. Bored hens can accidentally break and egg and discover the tastiness. Plus there is a much lower chance that bored chickens will peck at them and discover the treat. This site is owned and operated by Duran International, LLC, headquartered in Idaho, USA. I used to get 12-17 eggs a day, then it went down to 6 on average. is a great price on Amazon, or you can purchase. Egg-eating isnt as unnatural as you think chickens sometimes eat their own eggs in the wild! Golf balls work well for this. One easy way to slant the boxes is to use a paint tray with legs. Have you heard these "hacks"? I walked right into the hen house, and the hens were having a banquet on the egg! Whenever my egg production goes down and it goes down quickly I check the lightbulb and its stopped working! Some chickens just feast the second that the egg has been laid. Chickens that free range are unlikely to have a problem. How to Stop Chickens Eating their Eggs: Preventing Hens from Pecking Eggs Chicken Eating Eggs? 10 Ways to Prevent or Stop it Completely - Agro4africa In my experience with my 4 ladies, moving the area in which they lay has been helpful when they get in an egg-eating habit. As you reach into the nest box to collect eggs, you find a sticky, wet mess instead. It worked! Hi Amy, it can be a very frustrating habit to break. Your email address will not be published. Once an egg is compromised, the hen will certainly finish it off. Required fields are marked *. Even though they sit down for quite a while beforehand, they stand up and squat when the egg comes out, so it has to fall several inches before it hits the ground! They will suddenly believe that their eggs cannot be broken and they are less likely to attempt things in the future. As the bottle is rolled around the ground, treats will dispense. These carnivorous birds will certainly feast on an egg that has accidentally broken. How to Stop Chickens Eating Their Eggs: Tips and Tricks. Chickens Eating Eggs? 9 Ways to Prevent or Stop It But in each case, learning the needs of your flock is crucial. Discard all nesting materials that have any eggs on them and replace with new straw or hay. Take a raw egg or two and blow out the insides. Chickens eating eggs could be a sign that they are experiencing a nutritional deficiency or imbalance. Egg breakage is one of the mainreasons hens begin eating eggs. Hi Loma, we found making curtains for the nest boxes worked the best for breaking the egg eating habit. They are omnivores, which means they need meat and vegetation to be healthiest. Good luck on getting your hen to stop her habit. if(typeof ez_ad_units!='undefined'){ez_ad_units.push([[300,250],'chickenmag_com-leader-1','ezslot_14',123,'0','0'])};__ez_fad_position('div-gpt-ad-chickenmag_com-leader-1-0');Oyster shells are probably the best method for boosting the calcium in a chickens diet. Animalwised advises the best solution to egg eating is to identify the problem. Nesting boxes like this can be purchased or made. Amazing! Second, make sure that chickens aren't introduced to egg eating by yourself accidentally, or by another chicken. When you visit the site, Dotdash Meredith and its partners may store or retrieve information on your browser, mostly in the form of cookies. Use an egg that has been pecked with a small hole, empty it out, fill it up, and put it back in the nesting box for your egg-eating chicken to try. [optin-monster-shortcode id=kvvnkopxfxloyffia2bc]. Do your chickens eat their eggs? I know from experience a couple of our chickens started eating eggs last year. Do not mix it in with their regular feed as too much calcium can cause problems. I used plastic Easter eggs to confuse my girls. Using Mustard. Remove Repeat Offenders Keep your chickens entertained and they will be less likely to discover egg eating. If you do find a broken egg in your nesting box, clean up all remnants immediately. The chicken will crack open that egg, taste the interior and they will become a little bit dubious of eating eggs again in the future! If they have some sort of entertainment outside, then they are less likely to hang around and peck their eggs. Check your eggs 3 or 4 times a day and collect any new eggs. Relocate any broody hens (hens that have decided to sit on and incubate eggs), which can cause congestion in the nesting boxes. If other chickens in the vicinity watch this behavior, they may learn from it and develop a taste for eggs. Bored chickens can often resort to pecking at eggs out of boredom. Just attach it and aim at your nesting boxes. The holes should be large enough for the treats to fall out but not so large that they pour out freely. Currently, she is a professor of Horticulture, an Education Specialist, and pest specialist. Here are some tips to prevent breakage: Following the egg-breakage prevention methods might be all it takes to stop your hens from eating eggs. She started to lay and stopped for another week or so. Thanks for all the tips! After a few eggs filled with mustard, the chickens have decided that eggs are not such a tasty treat.
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