Solitary chicken - need advice

[KateP]

Roxanne has started to eat her own eggs in the last few weeks . Luckily she isn't eating Donna's so we are still getting a few eggs (although she's currently moulting so not that many!).

 

I have bought a roll away nesting box but it seems too big to fit into the eglu. Has any one else had any luck with these?

 

I have also wondered if she is eating them because the shells are quite thin on her eggs and they easily smash? Donna's eggs are quite hard so maybe she's too lazy to break these and eat them?! Would limestone flour help to harden her eggs? If so, how much would you add to their pellets and where is the best place to buy it?

 

Thanks

[Ain't Nobody Here]

I had just the same problem with all 3 of mine eating all their eggs . They were very soft shelled so I think that's why.

 

I tried Zolcal D but that didn't seem to make a difference. I then bought two ceramic eggs and also tried putting used egg shells into the run smeared generously with English mustard. They didn't like that much although they had a good peck first before furious beak wiping . I occasionally added limestone flour and cod liver oil to their mixed corn too.

 

They seem to be laying harder shelled eggs now (not up to full production yet though) and the egg eating seems to have stopped.

 

I bought some limestone flour from this Ebay seller (just last week!). I sprinkle half a teaspoon onto their corn with a drizzle of the oil.

 

I was going to try a roll away nestbox but planned to put it into a cardboard box somehow. I'm not bothering now.

[KateP]

Thanks - I'm definitely going to buy some limestone flour and see if that helps.

[Mrs Slats]

we had the same problem after a bout of softies and went for a multi pronged approach

 

We used the ceramic eggs in the nest box to try to retrain them that eggs couldn't be broken (not without a resulting headache )

 

We also tried the mustard trick to break the habit.

 

Then we gave them daily doses of pellet mash, made with extra limestone flour to raise their intake of good egg making food.

 

And finally we stopped the morning free-ranging. now they are only allowed out during the afternoon so they are eating more layers pellets and less treats.

 

It seams to have worked, we get the odd softie but also get a good solid brown egg per day.

 

Also worth noting, they have never eaten the white eggs... only the brown.