The Accidental Smallholder Forum

Livestock => Poultry & Waterfowl => Topic started by: eng13 on September 25, 2009, 11:18:28 am

Title: egg eating hens
Post by: eng13 on September 25, 2009, 11:18:28 am

hi all, has anyone come across ther hens eating egg, i have two and are trying to eat the eggs that have just been  layed  ???

Title: Re: egg eating hens
Post by: shetlandpaul on September 25, 2009, 01:23:15 pm

chicken pie. is the answer. its very hard to stop the habit

Title: Re: egg eating hens
Post by: Unicorn on September 25, 2009, 01:52:58 pm

Yep

Chicken Pie or soup - tried the mustard on eggs, separating them, all the advice people give,
but once they have the taste and the bad habit it is very hard to stop them.

Title: Re: egg eating hens
Post by: Cluckinggoodpoultry on September 25, 2009, 02:26:49 pm

I used marble and false eggs and that seems to have stopped the problem, so my hens escaped the chicken pie  :D

Title: Re: egg eating hens
Post by: eng13 on September 25, 2009, 03:19:10 pm

 :o no not a pie,i love them :chook:

Title: Re: egg eating hens
Post by: doganjo on September 25, 2009, 04:16:47 pm

I had one - an ex batt.  I gave her to QWOLF who tried her with a mustard filled egg - she ate it with relish (http://smileys.on-my-web.com/repository/Laughing/drunk-irish-048.gif) (like that one?)

I believe she escaped over a wall into a free range chicken farm.(http://smileys.on-my-web.com/repository/Laughing/hahaha-024.gif)

Title: Re: egg eating hens
Post by: shetlandpaul on September 25, 2009, 08:26:24 pm

Quote from: eng13 on September 25, 2009, 03:19:10 pm

:o no not a pie,i love them :chook:

ok curry then. :yum:

Title: Re: egg eating hens
Post by: northfifeduckling on September 26, 2009, 09:37:07 pm

my friend had 2 lots like that. she tried everything and more  - ended up in hen heaven prematurely after all... :&>

Title: Re: egg eating hens
Post by: Pentre1230 on September 27, 2009, 04:41:36 pm

A last resort if you are attached to them and dont want to eat them is to trim the beak...but get a poultry man/woman who knows what they are doing to do it for you...

Title: Re: egg eating hens
Post by: Hardfeather on September 27, 2009, 05:04:02 pm

Pull their necks before the others start to copy them.

Title: Re: egg eating hens
Post by: aparker155 on September 28, 2009, 12:21:32 pm

Ooo you're all so harsh!!

Where do they lay egg13?? If they lay in a nest box then you can get (or even make) a 'roll-away' nest box which is designed so that when the egg is laid it rolls down into a cushioned area which is partitioned away from the hen so the hen can't get to the egg. If you do a search on the internet it should come up with plenty of information on these!!

Just another point - are your eggshells hard? My hens have been known to eat any soft-shelled eggs which are laid but can't (or don't) with proper hard-shelled eggs. If you have a problem with soft-shelled eggs (and are already supplying the oyster shell as required) then you can add some limestone flour (for calcium) and cod liver oil (for vitamin E to aid calcium absorption) - I always add a teaspoon of both once a week to their food to prevent any issues.

Title: Re: egg eating hens
Post by: northfifeduckling on September 28, 2009, 12:40:23 pm

limestone flour - is different from ordinary garden lime, I take it? Would I get that at my feed merchants? I do get a few cracked duck eggs a week, it might improve the situation. thanks also for the tip with the Vit E.  :&>

Title: Re: egg eating hens
Post by: aparker155 on September 28, 2009, 02:52:19 pm

No problem!

Yes limestone flour is very different from garden lime - I couldn't get it from my local feed shop so I got mine online from a horse feed supplier as they use it for horses as a calcium supplement:

http://www.baileyshorsefeeds.co.uk/whatproduct/supplements/lime.htm

Title: Re: egg eating hens
Post by: eng13 on October 25, 2009, 10:20:54 am

thank you all for your help ;)