AJuff Posted February 20, 2009 Share Posted February 20, 2009 I'm not sure which chook is the culprit but one of them is targeting the green and blue eggs and eating them. At first I thought that they were accidently being broken but after a number of weeks it has become clear that blue/green eggs are being selected out. How should I deal with this? Should I keep the columbines separate? I had intended to split the flock but was planning to keep the marans together. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ain't Nobody Here Posted February 20, 2009 Share Posted February 20, 2009 Blimey, you can't let that continue . What a waste of lovely and . I think I've read that mustard (or chilli?) powder secreted in a broken egg (if you can manage it) can put them off? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Egluntyne Posted February 20, 2009 Share Posted February 20, 2009 Not heard of this before. I'd do as ANH suggests. (It's mustard...they love chilli!) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snowy Posted February 20, 2009 Share Posted February 20, 2009 Can you paint a porcelain egg blue and put that in the nest? If you have found shell remnants, how does the shell seem, is it thin at all? If so, they may be targetting them because of the softer/thinner shells. Hope you get it sorted - hate to see those lovely eggs going to waste (although the chooks wouldn't think so ) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AJuff Posted February 20, 2009 Author Share Posted February 20, 2009 I initially thought that the shells were thinner and had been accidently broken. However as the weeks have passed this is not the case. The shells seem to be fairly thick definitely not thin and brittle as first thought. YD says she found Felicity (Sussex star) and Hilda (columbine) in the nest box together. Hilda got off the nest and when she went back Felicity was there and two green eggs had been broken! She thinks Felicity is the culprit! I may pop the columbines into the eglu tomorrow just to check that their eggs are def. ok. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Egluntyne Posted February 21, 2009 Share Posted February 21, 2009 I don't know if this would be possible, but how about seeing if a couple of Rollaway nest box liners would fit in the cube. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AJuff Posted February 21, 2009 Author Share Posted February 21, 2009 Err silly question but where do you put them? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Egluntyne Posted February 21, 2009 Share Posted February 21, 2009 They are really meant for purpose built nest boxes, but I'm sure I remember someone on the forum putting them in the nesting area of the cube, and the eggs rolled away under the insert, but were inaccessible to the hens. Might be worth enquiring about dimensions, or making something similar if you are handy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
