[Seppfire]

Have had our 12 Amberlinks for 2 weeks - they came from a commercial free range farm & we were told they were 73 weeks old. Basically clearing out the old stock I suppose..
Anyway, all's being going well, they've been laying well, except we have one(or more!) egg eater & I don't know how to stop it.
We check 3 times a day for eggs.
 They are fed layers mash & mixed corn.
I've read your other threads on egg eating but no-one seems to have a real cure, but thought I might try the dummy egg thing.

Any ideas,anyone...?

[peanut]

I have never had this problem but a friend of mine took and egg, made a hole and added tabasco sauce to the egg.  He has had no repeat poultry picnics (not surprising really )

[Dymoduds]

I have read somewhere the same thing but with mustard powder??
Never had to do it though, I have been looking at those nesting boxes where the eggs roll away to a covered area when they have been layed, ours try to bury theirs and often break or crack them, very annoying.  This would stop them burying them or eating them I suppose?
Sara x

[peanut]

I have read somewhere the same thing but with mustard powder??
Never had to do it though, I have been looking at those nesting boxes where the eggs roll away to a covered area when they have been layed, ours try to bury theirs and often break or crack them, very annoying.  This would stop them burying them or eating them I suppose?
Sara x

So you have chooks that think they're turtles

[mumsy]

I had the same prob when one was laying soft shelled eggs....they then started pecking the normal eggs, as per Munty's info on this..........filling an empty shell with mustard, it soon stopped.  You do need to remove the eggs asap if possible, just leaving the baited one.

[trinacooke]

I only have 4 chickens but I had one of mine start eating the eggs  I tried mustard but they loved the stuff and were all waiting for some more!!!!!! bless them 'NOT' ......

It was the early morning egg and it turned out that i was not letting them out early enough. The egg was getting broken by eager chickens waiting to get out ..... so I solved the problem by letting them out as early as I could and checking frequently through out the day! we get the odd pecked one which the dogs get to eat but nothing worse than that now! 

Hope this helps a bit!!

Trina 

[Seppfire]

Hens get let out at 6.30am, when I get up to do the dogs, so not sure it's them not getiing out early enough.

Thanks for all the replies anyway & I will give the mustard/tabasco-thing a try.
Might even try my own 'evil' anti-egg eating concoction!

[T C]

HI MY HUBBY MADE A ROLL BACK NESTING BOX, IT GREAT AS SOON AS HEN LAYS THE EGG ROLLS AWAY, OUT OF THE WAY OF ANY HENS THAT START THE HABIT, I HAD A EGG EATER MANY YEARS AGO, I WAS NEVER ABLE TO STOP IT, IN FACT THE OTHERS SOON  DECIDED THEY WOULD JOIN IN, IT WAS A NIGHTMERE, SO THIS TIME WHEN BUILDING THE HEN HOUSE WE WENT ONE STEP AHEAD OF THEM TC

[Railside Rooster]

Hi

We had the same issue, read all the threads and advice and tried the following:

1. HOT mustard and pepper in blown eggs- they ate them but I think it helped
2. Make sure they are getting enough protein - gave them some cat food!
3. Put some strips of old fabric (trousers!) over the front of the nest box to make it darker - these are now always the favourites for all but the largest birds
4. Collected the eggs regularly

We coccasionally have the issue repeated but have identified that it is only ONE hen doing it and ussually starts when she tries to lay in her favourite box and there is already an egg in there

There is a train of thought that suggest you should just let them eat them as they will soon get fed up and have taken in what they were needing e.g the shell or the protein/ vitamins.   The issue here is that you could encourage the others to join in if it was only one of them in the first place.....!

Hope this helps

Lucy