We've got an egg-eater on our hands...😤

[talkinboutchickens]

What have you been feeding/what are you feeding now?

16% Kalmbach, and I just got some oyster shells yesterday at TSC

 

[Delphene]

Oh no! And I thought frozen eggs were bad..

 

[Juaneata]

You are right, they probably do not have enough calcium, because we don't provide some for them on the side like we should be doing. we have crushed oyster shells, I think it is, or maybe crushed granite or something, but they show no interest whatsoever in it. Is there a more appetizing alternative? Also, I've always wondered if grit and crushed oyster shells are the same thing and if they do the same thing for chickens? Like do crushed oyster shells function to grind food up or is it just a source of calcium? Sorry that may sound like a stupid question


I have seen the paint tray idea, and it seems very cool but I'm worried that only putting turf in it won't make the chickens feel comfy enough in the nesting boxes?
I don't think it will work in my coop because there are already nest boxes installed in there, and I don't think I can add on to them in order to make them roll-away nesting boxes if you know what I mean

16% Kalmbach layer feed pellets. Also they have not free-ranged in DAYS because of the snow we have gotten, but they usually free-range every day.

Pine shavings, but they always end up kicking the majority of it out so it's not as cushioned anymore

Thank you so much for all of the great suggestions! Once their feed runs out, I will switch over to 20%, and provide grit on the side- that's where I messed up- I did not provide grit because they don't ever eat it. Do you prefer a certain brand or type that your chickens tend to like? Their feeder is a gravity feeder, and there are 6 holes for them to eat out of.
Oh!! I have never thought about that since they stand up to lay, the eggs could crack when they fall. That totally makes sense. I will see what I have in the garage that I can use for extra nest boxes.

Hi. I put cardboard down first in the nest boxes. Then pine shavings. It completely stopped the eggs from breaking. If the cardboard gets dirty, (poopy), either turn it over or swap with a fresh one so bacteria doesn’t build up. My nest boxes are rectangle and the flaps from amazon boxes were the perfect size for me. And as far the fake eggs I used, it took a little while, but they quit eating their eggs. They don’t like hitting their beaks on something hard and they couldn’t break them open. They quit trying. I left them in there for quite awhile after it stopped just to make sure. Good luck!

 

[Farrari]

Hello everyone. We've got some egg-eater(s) now This has been going on since maybe December? Or November? Or earlier?Honestly it has probably been going on for even longer than that, since I've seen broken eggs in the summer, but we just suspected that our chicken's big bodies were smashing the eggs against the bottom of the nesting boxes. That's definitely a possibility, since they have had yolk on their underbellies before. It's a pain in the butt because we are not getting barely any eggs as it is because it's the middle of winter, and the chickens have been eating all of the eggs that they lay. So we have to buy our eggs in the store now. There is evidence- such as empty egg shells in the run, yolk in the nesting boxes, yolk on the chicken's faces, and half-eaten eggs that are buried underneath the pine shavings somehow.
You would think that it would be easy to find out who the egg eater is by seeing who has yolk on them, but most of them have yolk on themselves, that's the problem. I think there is one chicken who grabs the egg and starts eating it, and the others join in to eat the egg- so there is the culprit, and the partners in crime. The partners in crime obviously are doing nothing wrong, because they are just joining in to eat the egg if you know what I mean. I must find out who the culprit is so I can stop them. Also, have you seen how expensive eggs are in the store??? HOLY COW!!! Great value (Walmart) eggs are 5 dollars and something. We want to start selling eggs for like 6-7 bucks once egg production starts back up but we obviously can't do that if the chickens are eating their eggs Is there a cheap way to stop our egg eater(s)? Getting rid of them or culling them is definitely NOT an option, they are our little babies. Also, a camera would be very hard to install because there is no electricity running to the coop, and cameras are expensive. Is there a way that we can make a DIY automatic-egg-collecting nesting box with only a few materials? Or if you have other suggestions they will be very much appreciated.

Thanks so much in advance!

I sprinkle powdered mustard in my boxes on top of the sawdust and that’s always worked for me

 

[talkinboutchickens]

I sprinkle powdered mustard in my boxes on top of the sawdust and that’s always worked for me

Oh that is interesting! How do they get it into their mouths? Or do they smell it and are repelled by it?

 

[Farrari]

Oh that is interesting! How do they get it into their mouths? Or do they smell it and are repelled by it?

I presume they don’t like the taste, my grandparents used it and it’s worked for me for sixty odd years, if I see a broken egg I sprinkle that nest box and don’t lose any more eggs.

 

[talkinboutchickens]

I presume they don’t like the taste, my grandparents used it and it’s worked for me for sixty odd years, if I see a broken egg I sprinkle that nest box and don’t lose any more eggs.

Wow! That is so cool! I'll try that! For now, they don't seem to be eating any more eggs thank God!! I got them some crushed oyster shells and switched them over to 18% layer instead of 16% and they are doing great!

 

[Farrari]

Great, maybe the eggs were just getting broken and it was a transient thing. I had magpies going into my chicken houses for the eggs-I bought a scarecrow, problem solved