A heavy heart

[Jen13]

I have an eglu go and my chickens lay eggs in their nesting area but then eat them.

They're kept clean, have treats and enrichment but it seems the nesting area is just too open and light compared to traditional nesting boxes.

Has anyone else had an issue with egg eating and have you resolved it? Not sure if there's a more proper nesting box that would fit in the eglu and prevent egg eating?

[Cat tails]

On 3/31/2023 at 6:10 PM, Jen13 said:

I have an eglu go and my chickens lay eggs in their nesting area but then eat them.

They're kept clean, have treats and enrichment but it seems the nesting area is just too open and light compared to traditional nesting boxes.

Has anyone else had an issue with egg eating and have you resolved it? Not sure if there's a more proper nesting box that would fit in the eglu and prevent egg eating?

Have tried fitting them with bumpa bits?

Once they get the taste for eggs, it’s very hard to stop them. A different nesting box (unless it’s a roll away system) likely won’t work.

[Beantree]

Once they have made the connection between an intact egg and yummy food that's it. An extremely hard habit to break and one which often results in the flock being killed and replaced. Two options are, firstly as Cattails suggests, fit Bumpa bits. These will stop them pecking directly at the shell to break the egg and may render it unbreakable. Second option is 'pot' eggs left in the nest boxes. These are ceramic and unbreakable. The idea is they knock themselves silly trying to break into them and eventually decide breaking egg isn't a good idea. Both options do work, but you may need to use both. Be warned leaving pot eggs in the nest boxes for an extended period may result in their proper use becoming apparent; to make hens broody.