By: Meredith Chilson
I’ve done a bit of research on this, as I think I may have a “closet” egg-eater in my flock. Occasionally, I will go to gather eggs and find yolk or part of a shell stuck to another egg in the nest box. In my henhouse, it doesn’t happen very often, and I’ve never caught the culprit in the act, but I am concerned enough about this to want to take preventive action.
I’ve found that there are several things that could be causing this behavior, but the usual basis is either a diet deficiency, boredom or crowded conditions.
Chickens need a variety of things to eat—bagged feed usually has sufficient vitamins, but calcium needs to be added to laying hens’ diets. Low calcium levels lead to thin or porous shells that are easily broken. Small bags of crushed oyster shells can be purchased at your local feed store; I have a two-bin feeder that holds oyster shell on one side and grit on the other. Chickens also need Vitamin D (this helps their bodies absorb the calcium more efficiently), but if your flock is outside during the day, they shouldn’t need supplements of this. A free-ranging flock will also have access to fresh greens, bugs and earthworms that add more nutrients to a diet. Chickens also need lots of clean, fresh water; sometimes egg-eating is in response to lack of liquid.
Egg eating is a form of cannibalism, and because boredom is one cause of chickens “picking” at each other, it makes sense that boredom could also lead to egg eating. Once chickens develop a taste for egg eating and learn how to break eggs for that tasty snack, it’s difficult to change that behavior.
If your chickens are let outside to roam each day, you shouldn’t have a crowding problem. If your flock is penned, however, your coop should allow up to 10 square feet of floor space per bird, depending on the size of your chickens (and Rhode Island Reds and Wyandottes are good-size birds). Your coop ought to have at least one nest box for every four hens, and most sources say you should have at least six nest boxes, no matter how many chickens you have. I have seven nest boxes for 18 hens, but they often only lay eggs in three or four of the boxes. Sometimes with too few boxes, eggs will be laid on the floor, stepped on and broken, and this is the first taste the chickens will have of that yummy treat.
A flock owner can try several approaches to curbing egg-eating behavior. First, be certain that the chickens have a varied diet, plenty of oyster shell for calcium, and daily fresh water. Some sources suggest adding liquid whole milk to their diet for a few days, too. Strong eggshells will make it much more difficult for accidental egg breakage. Only serve scratch grain as an occasional treat, and don’t mix it in with your bagged feed.
If you can’t free-range your chickens, you might try a chicken tractor or portable coop to ensure that your birds are getting fresh greens and other yard delicacies. I also take all my apple and carrot peelings, leftover watermelon and cantaloupe, and (right now) bolted spinach from the garden in to my hens as diet additions. There have been several recent Community Cluckers blogs that talk about extra treats, too, and one last spring gave directions for building a neat “boredom buster” from a cabbage. Look for Cortney’s “Variety is the Spice of Life, Same Goes for Chickens” or Jennifer Burke’s “Boredom Buster."
Gather eggs several times a day. Because my birds often choose to lay their eggs in the same few nests, I think that my heavy Buff Orpingtons, jostling around on top of several eggs, can cause one or two of them to crack. Leaving eggs in nests, particularly if you know your birds have an egg-eating problem, is asking for trouble. Also, make sure that your nests have plenty of nesting material in them. I use shavings as a bottom layer, and cover them with straw. Eggs landing on hard surfaces tend to crack, too!
Some of the resources I consulted suggested darkening the nest boxes, with a tacked up curtain. This is one way to keep egg-eating chickens from seeing if there are eggs in the boxes. Another suggestion, from a Mother Earth News article (February-March 2010) is to raise the nest boxes 18’’ off the floor so bored chickens won’t be able to reach in. This article also suggests using nests that allow eggs to roll to a tray behind the nests, so chickens will not be able to reach them.
I found, in three or four places, recipes for things to mix in with broken eggs to make them taste so nasty that chickens wouldn’t want to eat them ever again. I haven’t tried any of these, but the basic recipe is a broken egg mixed with (your choice) several teaspoons of black pepper or mustard and chili powder, served in a bowl on the floor of the coop. I’d be interested in hearing the results from you if you try this!
If you have just one chicken that’s eating eggs, and you can identify which one, it might be best to cull that one.
If you’ve tried gathering eggs frequently, checked the diet and added more calcium, darkened nests filled with lots of nesting material, made sure your chickens have plenty of room and lots to do … and they are still eating their eggs, as a last resort before sending them all to the stew pot, you might try this:
Take a pair of nail clippers or small, sharp scissors and clip the point off the top mandible of the birds’ beaks. Just clip the point off the top: Don’t clip far enough in to make it bleed, and don’t clip the bottom. They’ll no longer be able to break the eggs with their beaks.
I hope this helps solve any egg eating problems in your henhouse. While doing the research, I’ve picked up some ideas that I’m going to try out in my own coop: I may raise the nest boxes a little higher, add curtains to a few of the boxes, and be more conscientious about gathering eggs frequently. If I can be sure which hen is doing the munching, I may even see about clipping her upper beak. And if all else fails, I have a great recipe for chicken stew.
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