Topic
Yes l have chickens but each time they lay eggs they eat time. They always lay them when l am not home, what can l do to make them stop?
What can I do to make my chickens stop eating their eggs?
Many people tend to think that egg eating comes from lack of nutrients in the chickens diet, but most commonly it starts when a hen lays an egg & it cracked (or a soft shell egg) the hen thinks it is strange & then pecks at it. As she pecks at it she finds out that it tastes good & before u know it she starts eating her own eggs & teaching the other birds to eat them also.
What to do with them- u do not have to kill them but u can actually cure the problem. I hear all these people talking about spraying things on eggs & putting nasty food in them. I have never heard of those ideas actually working. Same with spicing ur dogs meat so that he doesn’t want to eat it. I though have fixed this problem among my birds with a different technique. I toss in a golf ball (you can toss in a fake egg if u do not have a golf ball) the chicken mistakes the golf ball for an egg. She will peck at it for a while & then determine that she can’t eat it. Do this for a few days & she should leave her eggs alone. This has worked for me many times & I hope it works for u also. After awhile when she is better u can return her to the coop.
If she still eats eggs- you, can give it some time. I had a few bantams that ate eggs but I couldn’t find their nests to put golf balls in. After a month or so they went back to not eating eggs.
Also make sure that her nest is full of straw or sawdust as the above person said to help prevent breakage of eggs. You can also purchase nesting boxes that r tilted & collect the eggs in a cubby so the hen can’t eat them after they r laid. If she refuses to go in a nesting box then close her in a cope with a nest that has a golf ball or an egg in it. Chickens naturally like to lay their eggs where other eggs r due to the whole sit & hatch a clutch.
If u chickens r eating eggs because of lack of nutrients- then u would know. Their feathers will not be as shiny nor their eyes. They will get sick easily. They will be skinny & show traits of an unhealthy bird.
(I have never had a chicken eat eggs because of lack of nutrients but rather because they like the taste of them)
If there is a calcium reason- You would feel it while cracking their eggs or looking at the shell because it would not be as thick.
If u have any questions feel free to contact me via email.
Hope this helps,
What can I do to make my chickens stop eating their eggs?
CANNIBAL CHICKENS.