How do you keep your chicken from eating their eggs?

1. 78

   Cat Rposted 12 years ago

   How do you keep your chicken from eating their eggs?
   
   My spoiled rotten chicken were laying OK, but then I noticed that I didn't get any eggs for a few days. By now we know that they apparently like to eat them as much as we do!
   They are getting those crushed shells and stuff, so they should have enough calcium!
   
   How do I keep them from eating MY breakfast!? With all the spoiling, I deserve some 'love' in return!

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2. 100

   DrMark1961posted 12 years ago

   This remedy is used a lot here if a hen develops this vice--do you have the stomach for it? Take a large knife, heat up the side of the blade, and press it against the top half of your birds beak. Do not let the hot blade touch the tongue! Do not burn the bottom half of the beak. This procedure is actually done with all factory farmed chickens at one day of age, but if you only burn, instead of actually cutting, you can do an older bird. As the top of the beak burns it really stinks, so it may gross you out. Some hens will just sit in your arms quietly for this, but it is painful so some hens will thrash around. If you have one person to hold, and another person to open the beak and do the heating/blunting, it works a lot better.
   Your bird will still be able to eat okay, and even "scratch", but will not have the tip of her beak to break open an eggshell. The beak grows back so you may have to do this more than once, but I think hens lose the habit of breaking into an egg and I have never had to do a bird more than once. This also works if you have one hen picking on another (and she is drawing blood).

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   1. 78

      Cat Rposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      It's less about the stomach then about the pain to them and disfiguring them. Gonna have to think about it, but I appreciate the advise.

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   2. 100

      DrMark1961posted 12 years agoin reply to this

      Yes, it is painful. Since it is only singing the tip the beaks do grow back with time, so the disfigurement is not that bad.

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3. 61

   tlmcgaa70posted 12 years ago

   http://www.wikihow.com/Keep-Chickens-fr … r-Own-Eggs
   
   maybe the suggestions found in the link above will offer some solutions. anything has to be better than mutilation. that is the most horrible thing anyone can do.

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   1. 78

      Cat Rposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      I tried the fake eggs and after a week of them spreading them all over the coop in anger, they figured it out that they can't eat them. I am getting 2+ eggs a day now. Either some of my Oldies are lazy or some may still be eaten.

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4. 59

   Jodi Ralstonposted 12 years ago

   This link might help:  http://smallfarm.about.com/od/farmanima … eating.htm   Also, when are you collecting the eggs?  Are they staying in the nest too long?  If you can get them as soon as you hear the "I've laid an egg" cry, the better.

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   1. 78

      Cat Rposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      I let them out in the morning and check, when I get back from work. I check again in the afternoon when I get up and the kids get home from school. And they check when they let them in.
      Can't always check for the 'announcement.

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5. 70

   Farmer Rachelposted 12 years ago

   I would recommend making sure that their feed has a sufficient protein content.  What are you feeding them, and is it free choice? It should be at least 16% protein, and you could bump it up to 20%. With egg-layers you can't rely on grass and bugs alone, unfortunately. Also, what breed are they?

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   1. 78

      Cat Rposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      They were getting crumbles for a while, after growing up on starter. Then I added scratch once again to give them variety; despite then not liking it the first time. Now they reject the crumbles mostly, love the scratch and the calcium stuff.

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6. 60

   IDONOposted 12 years ago

   You should have them watch a movie or read a book about the ill effects of cannibalism.

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   1. 78

      Cat Rposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      lol

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