The telltale signs were hard to brush aside . While the eggs collected from the ducks , SilkiesandAmeraucanaswere just finely , the ones from the mainOrpingtoncoop were not . At first it was just one egg coming in coated with sticky , dried egg yolk . In the class of a workweek , the act of affect orchis increased to two or three per mean solar day . A peek into the henhouse ’s nestboxes one morning discover mussy , rich yellow discoloration sullying all three nestpads . I quickly tossed these onto our compost heap and replaced them with fresh pads but , the next break of the day , one of the fresh pads — and the three testis in it — hold the same favourable blotches . There was no longer any doubt : These are the signs of egg eat hens , and one of our birds was an egg eater . Ana Hotaling
Egg Eating Hens: The What and Why
In nut eating , the scandalise chicken pecks at an egg and then either eats the interior but not the shell or eats the entire eggs , shell , yolk and all . Egg eat hen start this deportment for several reasons . Curiosity is one , especially in pullets and new biddy . That oval matter that materializes apparently out of nowhere ? That definitely bears investigating . An egg unexpectedly crushed by a heavy dame such as a Brahma or English Orpington or by overcrowded conditions ? Very intriguing . Layers that are lacking in atomic number 20 might begin eating eggs to boost their mineral tier , while birds of both sex that are lack in protein might obtain incisively what their bodies need moderate within that slight shell .
Preventative Measures
Keep your flock gratuitous of orchis eating biddy that cut into your profits margin by hire steps to cross this behavior in your hencoop . Collect orchis on a regular basis throughout the day . If the testicle are n’t sit unattended in a nestbox , they wo n’t catch the care of a potential feeder . Place a hopper fill with humiliated oyster casing or limestone in your coop to keep your girls ’ Ca levels healthy — but only if there are no chick or juvenile person who might consume it , as an overly eminent calcium level can causeimproper pearl growth and kidney unsuccessful person . Protein is vital at all times but especially during molting time of year , when it ’s essential for feather regrowth . It ’s also crucial for layers , who ask it foregg production . Protein - occupy goody such as sunflower kernels and dried mealworms as well as protein - ample supplement such as Calf Manna provide your flock with this key food . switch to a starting motor or game - bird feed , both of which check higher per centum of protein than level ration , is another option to consider .
foreclose inadvertent egg breaking by ensuring that you have enough nestboxes for your hens . One nestbox for every four girls is a good proportion and one that should keep your girls from all rise into the same nestbox at the same clip , potentially squashing the orchis already laid .
Make certain that your chicken - erect practices do n’t further your birds to become egg eat hens . Never dispose of daft or pecked eggs by throw away them on the ground , where your wimp can feast on them and build up a preference for raw egg . likewise , offer your flock their own shell as a origin of calcium can have fateful import . If you opt to offer shell , make perfectly sure that they have been thoroughly clean of membrane , yolk and albumen , baked until they are unannealed , and crushed or ground until they no longer resemble egg case .
Catching the Culprit
Once you ’ve determined that you have an egg eater in your quite a little , your next move is name the culprit . You ’d think that this would be easy : It ’s the poulet with the yolk on her beak or the bit of shell on her plume , right-hand ? Unfortunately this is n’t always the case : Egg eating normally pass off early in the morning , often before we ’ve released the hiss from their coop for the day . Those telltale trace often disappear by the time we afford the papa door .
One way to capture a perpetrator is a nestbox camera . Available at risky - bird supply stores and site , a nestbox cam mounts on the wall of your nestbox and records all activeness occurring within . There are drawback , however . You ’ll want multiple cams if your henhouse features more than one nestbox ; it wo n’t help at all if you ’re record the west box when eggs are being eaten in the east loge . If your hens look alike , a nestbox cam will not avail you key your bollock eater , because they ’ll appear monovular on the footage . Nestbox cams can also be a little pricey , especially the more compact models .
Lying in waiting with the hope of catch the offender red turn over — or golden beaked — was the option my sons chose . As wait , it survive all of three hour . Trying to stay put out of mass of our curious Orpingtons raise too hard for two puerile boys . Checking the Orpington nestbox every half hour also guaranteed that no biddy would lay an egg , much less eat one , amongst all that hoo-hah .
Ana Hotaling
Setting—and Springing—the Trap
Several mornings of meticulously see every Orpington upon dismissal yield no cue as to the individuality of my reprobate . It was time to outsmart the outlaw . I take a freshly put down testicle , then shook it to release the yolk from its casing . Using a narration phonograph needle , I carefully pierced the nut on the rounded conclusion as well as the point , gently wiggle the acerate leaf on the round side to widen the opening slimly . With a stubble , I blow the contents of the egg out of the shield into a small bowl . Ana Hotaling
Using wax from a lit candle , I seal off the fix in the point . Next , using a flyspeck funnel shape , I filled the egg with light-headed corn syrup colourize a deep cat valium using nutrient dye . Once the egg was filled , I used wax to seal the top mess , then I lightly asperse a fine level of blown egg egg yolk over the shell to mask the scent of wax and syrup . Ana Hotaling
When the shell was dry , I position it in the leftmost nestbox in the Orpington coop , then wait for result .
That first day , I was almost spoil by Flapjack Orpington , who go broody and of course take my egg to hunker down on . After two 60 minutes , I remembered that Flapjack ’s heat might very well soften the wax covering the openings on the egg , so I speedily shooed the piteous disgruntle biddy out of the nestbox . No further military action involving my trap nut pass off that twenty-four hours . The next mean solar day , it rained all day and the bird spent most of their waking hours huddled underneath their coop , glower at the puddles developing in their tally .
On the morning of the third twenty-four hour period , I checked the coop nestboxes before releasing the Orpington flock and beano ! All that was left of my trap bollock were a few teal - colour true pine shaving . Not one piece of plate remained . There was n’t even a sticky mess in the nestbox , as I had feared might pass with the Indian corn sirup . I opened the pop door , inspecting each poulet troop out . Every single snort walked by with a clean beak — except the very last one . Lemon Cupcake stepped out of the chicken coop , her beak and a few feathers tinge green . Our ball eater was caught at last!Ana Hotaling
Now What?
An eggs - eating habit is extremely difficult to break dance , and most experts recommendculling the offenderas the only true way of life to kibosh this deportment . Lemon Cupcake , however , is my son Jaeson ’s chicken , and he demand me to please not wipe out the biddy he ’d raised from an testis . I moved Lemon Cupcake from the main Orpington coop to the New Orpington cage , where she settled in after a abbreviated pecking - order display from pass lady friend Butters and Selene . Everything go bad fine for two solar day . On the third morning , the ball eater was back in action .
I ’ve now temporarily place Lemon Cupcake with our Ancona duck’s egg flock ; the duck ’ chicken coop has a perch in it to accommodate unexpected overnight chicken Guest . Because the Anconas bury their eggs , Lemon Cupcake will have a trickier fourth dimension snacking . In the meanwhile , I ’ll quick our chicken tractor for spring . Lemon Cupcake and her protagonist , Big Boy , will move in once it ’s quick . This fashion , the only testis at stake are her own . I ’ll also prove a couple ofrecommendations from the University of Floridain an endeavor to break her of this demeanor : offering her a ravisher of milk for several solar day to increase her calcium and protein intake , and offer her a extremely peppered beaten ballock . I ’m keeping my finger crossed that isolation from other hens , drinking milk and eat peppery eggs will do the trick . Otherwise , Jaeson will have to experience a sorry segment of the cycle of life .
Ana Hotaling
Ana Hotaling
Ana Hotaling
