Chicken Eating Eggs

Hello, to my dismay we figured out today that the flock of chickens we had acquired is eating their own eggs. They are currently in two small coops and will be until the 3 feet of snow goes off the ground, then they will be in chicken tractors, and will be moved daily, yes, but we cannot paddock them as we have a ton of predators in the area (took pictures of bobcat tracks a 100 feet from the coops yesterday). Sooo…

Does anyone know how to prevent them from eating their eggs? I'd hoped to keep these girls for another year while I rear a flock from chicks. These birds are 3-4 years old and I got them from a guy who has younger birds in their place. My Dad though maybe we could make nest boxes that would cause their eggs to roll to safety outside the coop. Any thoughts on how to build that?

I would image a slightly leaning base on the nest boxes, with a board at the back (down hill side) which is adjustable and set 2" or so up off the base.  The nest box base will have to continue past the house interior to the outside and have a surrounding lip and cover on hinge, which you can open to retrieve the eggs.

When an egg is laid it should roll back, under the back-board and into the outside holding area.  If I would building this I would make the base adjustable - so I could play with the angle for best results.  And the back-board adjustable to I could make it just large enough for whatever side egg I was getting.

All this contraption building is a lot of work - First, I might try adding something to their food, just to mix things up and please their taste buds, things like nutritional yeast, kelp, garlic and/or Italian seasonings, split peas, lentils, etc.  AND add a bunch of new litter to the floor of their coops - like hay, leaves, etc. and maybe throw some meal worms or such into the bedding.  The goal: to enrich their environment.  You'd be surprise how much 'misbehavior' is do to restless boredom.  (just like people  )

All the best!

Here's advice from the April 1926 American Poultry Journal, as quoted in Countryside Vol. 83, 1999 -

"Author F.L. Platt advised readers to feed chickens a mash that contains animal food....skim milk in pots, if possible...plenty of crushed oyster shell in litter and on the ground... nests are well padded with stsraw bottoms... scatter some artificial eggs around... make all nests dark, and have a few secluded nests...gather eggs as often as possible, and allow the hens to range.

Most queries come in March....there is a mineral deficiency ... due to confinement and lack of direct sunlight...recommended direct light, unfiltered by windows. 

In addition, bonemeal and cod liver oil were added to chicken rations in the 20's."

(I ran across this yesterday when processing piles of old info, to file for future reference.  The future arrived today!

Something that was already briefly mentioned, but I will mention again as a personal experience, is to collect the eggs as soon as they're done laying. Earlier the better.

If the eggs sit around for hours, and they are bored, they may start eating them.

They sound like they are looking for more protein.  Hens will begin eating their own eggs if there is insufficient protein in their diet.

ive found that egg eating is more of a learned behavior rather than one out of necessity. anotherwords lack of calcium. 

there are a number of ideas that ones have tried.  debeaking,  force feeding a diet of nothing but eggs for a week.  taking a blown out egg and putting hot sauce, hot mustard in it.  adding new and different litter. changing their diets, etc, etc. some of these may work at times. some may work for a short period. or most are only a limited success.... ive found that some hens regardless of what you do, they are encourageable.  and refuse to be broke from the nasty habbit. these type hens are nuisances and will teach this bad habbit to others.  they should be weeded out of the flock and culled.  a layer is a dime a dz.  no great loss to cull one for eating eggs.  left alone she will ruin the whole flock

Good points in the posts above. I've heard them all suggested (except for the "lack of protein" bit). There's pushing calcium (oyster shells, cooked eggshells fed back to the ladies), false eggs (ceramic eggs, golf balls, plastic eggs.. I've even heard ping-pong balls). As a first resort, I'd reiterate the advice to pick eggs often (three times daily if you're serious about it). I've heard repeatedly from old-timers that egg-eating is a learned behavior, and can be circumvented by picking often. A last resort would be the aforementioned slatted nesting box that rolls the eggs by gravity into an area unaccessible by the hens (last resort because it requires the most substantial investment of time and materials).

I just wanted to say thank you to all of you that have posted on this. Unfortunately, I do think this whole flock has the bad habits. I'll keep them separate from the new flock I'm starting this year, and I'd already planned to do them in this fall. They are between 3-4 years old, so I won't overwinter them, the new hens should be laying by then. My kids have been picking the eggs at least twice a day (more frequently on the weekends). I'm going to take a couple pieces of scrap wood and build the slanting nest boxes and see if that helps, but until we get these guys out of the greenhouse I am afraid their world is a bit boring (except for the kids coming out and talking to them. My 5 year-old son thinks they are his pets).

I am having this issue, and would love current input from folks who've had success ending this problem. Interestingly, the problem did seem to start in late winter, tho it is still ongoing now that it is may. I am not 100% sure it is a/the chicken(s) eating the egg, tho the path into the coop is a bit circuitous, so I don't think it is likely a jay that lives in the neighborhood. s/they have eaten the major portion of an egg pretty much first thing in the morning, and it has also happened in the afternoon (I've been gathering the several times a day many days, and only occasionally does it keep me from having a spoiled egg). There are only 5 girls in a fairly spacious coop. They are let out pretty much shortly after first light, and don't coop up until dusk. They are fed layer pellets, and have run of about 250 sq ft.  that I change up so it is not ruined dirt. I also bring the extra slugs, snails, and rollypollys from the vegie garden. I look forward to your thoughts. Thank you my permie colleagues

My grandma always warned not to feed egg shells to chickens for this reason.

Unless you grill/roast them first.

Barbara said, "I am having this issue, and would love current input from folks who've had success ending this problem.

In my experience, once a chicken starts eating eggs the problem is never-ending.  And that chicken might teach other chickens to eat eggs.

I've heard repeatedly from old-timers that egg-eating is a learned behavior, and can be circumvented by picking often.

I agree that it is a learned behavior.

The only solution that I see is to try to figure out who is the one eating the eggs.  That would mean spending some time watching who goes into the chicken house, then immediately check the eggs.

In my experience, the chickens only ever ate eggs that were already cracked (which is a natural instinct to avoid rotten eggs), and when they were deficient in calcium and/or protien from winter and my not keeping up on oyster shells.

Once I added those supplements, I did not have issues with them eating eggs anymore. Just one flock, but they did not continue. This makes me think that it may not be entirely habit forming.

I have studied this for some time.  To me a chicken that eats eggs is missing something.  One thing I have noticed in most feed that it is 16% protein.  I think that is too low for my mixed flock of mutt birds.  This egg eating usually starts in the spring when food quality is at its lowest.  Corn that was dried by a grain drier is dead corn.  It was cooked to dry it and is no longer viable.  This happens in the fall.  Same thing with most commercially available grains.  They have been killed so the will not spoil.  By the time spring makes it here a 16% feed mix may only be 13-14%.  We started growing open pollinated corn many years ago for this reason.  We just pick the nicest ears and plant them in the spring.  Our corn is still alive until the chickens eat it.

Another thing I have noticed is when we start feeding greenchop or pasture the chickens.  The spring grass shoots are low in protein.  We have planted many dandelions and clovers in the chicken pasture so the protein is a little higher in the spring.  When we put chicken on pasture we make sure they have home mixed grains that have a 22% protein.

Calcium seems to be hard to get through to the chickens.  Plants typically don't give up or have much calcium.  We have been experimenting with cabbage and broccoli to see if there is a more nature way to get calcium to them without supplement.

These issues have been hard to deal with from a permaculture perspective for us.  We would like zero inputs from outside the homestead, but haven't figured it all out yet.  

Christopher Shepherd wrote:To me a chicken that eats eggs is missing something.  One thing I have noticed in most feed that it is 16% protein.  I think that is too low for my mixed flock of mutt birds.  This egg eating usually starts in the spring when food quality is at its lowest.  
Another thing I have noticed is when we start feeding greenchop or pasture the chickens.  The spring grass shoots are low in protein.

Calcium seems to be hard to get through to the chickens.  Plants typically don't give up or have much calcium.  We have been experimenting with cabbage and broccoli to see if there is a more nature way to get calcium to them without supplement.

I have noticed, also, some tiny, yoke-less eggs. This seems to support not enough protein? Fortunately it has finally warmed up enough  that more slugs are available. The girls (leghorns) prefer the little ones: easier to avoid the slime. HAHA

Thanks all.

If your worried there isn't enough calcium, and don't want to buy oyster shells, you may consider feeding your hens there shells.  I have been doing this, and it helps me.  I have a container for the family to put the shells when they use an egg. When I have time I put them on a cookie sheet in a 200 degree oven for about 15 minutes.  Once they are cool I break them up into small pieces.  This process is supposed to help to not encourage chickens to eat there eggs.
I have a hen that is bad about eating eggs. Yes they will all go crazy for a broken egg.  I have a tray the eggs roll into.  It isn't deep enough, so sometimes it doesn't help.  For my situation I think it's all of the above.  If they aren't to board, are getting the right diet, and I'm good about gathering eggs I can go a long time without a broken egg.  
I have been super busy, so I haven't been getting eggs every day, I haven't given egg shells or oyster shells, and I just integrated 8 11 week old chicks into the flock, so both chick start, and layer feed is available.  So not surprising I keep finding a mees.  Need to get in gear.  Good luck.