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xChicken04x

I just done a really stupid thing.

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Oh dear. I went to see the girls, said hello to them all, then went to the egg port to check if we had any eggs. Clover flew up on to the roof as usual to say hello and basically beg for treats :roll: I got the two eggs out of the nesting box and my arm was resting on the cube roof I got distracted by Gemma because she was shouting at my feet for some corn, I wasn't looking at Clover, so she pecked one of the eggs, it then rolled of my hand and it had a small crack in it. I had a quick inspection, when Clover leaned over again and pecked the broken part. She then got mouth full of egg :roll:. I don't know who was more suprised me, or her. So again, not thinking, because the cat them came running accross the lawn with a mouse in her mouth, the girls where all going frantic because they could see that Clover had something they didn't. So here comes the stupid bit, I picked up a little tub, and put the rest of the yolk and white in there for the girls to eat. They all gobbled it up, so I was half way out of the run with an empty shell so I squashed it up and dropped it on the floor. That was gobbled up too :?. Anyway, now that the cat is safely in the house and little mousy is free, I have just realized what I have done :oops:.

Is it likley the girls will know what they have eaten? Its only Clover that saw where it came from. I wouldn't be so worried if it was one of the other girls, but Clover is very clever. Anyway, is there anything I can do?

 

Thank you for any help.

 

xx

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Oh dear! :shock:

 

They do sometimes eat cracked eggs of their own accord, and then they can get into a bad habit of eating freshly-laid ones. Do you have any smooth egg-sized stones, ping-pong balls, or similar to hand? If so, you could pop them in the nestbox or around the run asap, so that the hens quickly learn that round things are hard and inedible :)

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With it being a one off it might not develop into a bad habit.

 

Be quick to collect eggs for the next few days if at all possible, and you should be ok.

 

Do as Eyren suggests if the egg eating happens again....also you can buy ceramic eggs to put in the nest, and that might stop them. A few pecks at the unyielding surface puts them off.

 

Someone on the forum used this method quite successfully recently.....Amo I think.

 

Try not to worry. :lol:

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My Coral laid a lot of soft eggs when we first got her and she and the other hens ate every single one of them before we could get to them. As far as I know, they have not tried to eat any of the hard shelled eggs (or if they've tried, they haven't been successful :lol: )

 

I'd just hope it was a one off and try not to worry, then if it does become an issue there are lots of tricks for stopping them

 

 

Jo

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Thank you all for the support :D.

It was a stupid thing to do, I blame the cat :evil:.

I have got a rubber bouncy ball egg (its one of those joke eggs, you know the ones that you drop and it bounces?) I have put that in the nesting box. I shown it to the girls, but none of them where that interested appart from Clover who pecked it frantically :x. Once she figured out she couldn't eat that one she gave up. She's our only blue/green egg layer, so I hope she it doesn't turn into a habbit, her eggs are popular demand 8). Its only Clover who is the worry, the others didn't click on to what they where eating :roll:. She has wanted to lay since this morning, but hasn't so far, I guess we will find out either today or tomorrow :anxious:.

 

Thank you all agian, its very much appreciated.

 

xx

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I had an issue with my hens eating their eggs all the time, and the advice other people have given here already really does work... I made sure I picked the eggs up as soon as they were laid, and also put some ceramic eggs in the nesting box (they're still there now), and have had my eggs intact every day since...

It's amazing how quickly the girls get into the habit of eating their eggs after getting a taste... I hope your hen doesn't get into that habit, but if she does, the ceramics are really worth a try.

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Well They Do Say Once They Get The Sweet Taste, They'll Keep Going For It. If Clover is the only chicken, She may try and get Another Egg again, then the other Chickens Will Follow and notice... If my girls get this into their heads I Normally Crack the top of the egg off, Empty the yolk out And fill with vigegar And Mustard before Glueing the egg back up.

They peck it open And Don't like the taste And they next morning Everything is Dandy! :D

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