emchook Posted January 30, 2010 Share Posted January 30, 2010 I have seen a few of these posts and sat back smugly safe in the knowledge that I dont have to deal with mustard eggs to stop this etc. HOWEVER, today I found a broken egg in the nest with half the shell missing. [ I have had very thin eggs recently but where was the rest of the shell ??? ] I also noticed about a week ago some orange looking sawdust ... but just thought it was some new wee .. not sure why I thought that as I believe chickens dont actually wee. Egg production has definitely dropped .. but I thought this was a time of year thing. Why has this started happening ? Is it my fault as they have not been FR very much due to recent fox visits during the day. What to do please ??? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eggasperated Posted January 30, 2010 Share Posted January 30, 2010 Can't offer a solution but I have also found wet / orange sawdust in nest box, especially after Carol has been in there; I think she must be laying virtually shell-less eggs and then eating them. Any advice would be welcome. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chook n Boo Mum Posted January 30, 2010 Share Posted January 30, 2010 Can't help with the egg eating as such, but try to strengthen their shells with limestone flour for extra calcium and add some cod liver oil too to aid the absorption of the calcium.......hopefully in a week or so you should see an improvement in the shells and even more hopefully the little minxes will stop eating them Good luck, Sha x Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Christian Posted January 31, 2010 Share Posted January 31, 2010 You should find some evidence that the eggs have been eaten. One of mine would have yolk around her beak The odd bit of shell or yolk stuck to the bedding? Try some golf balls in the nest or fake eggs for a while. It might just be that they aren't laying at the moment? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
emchook Posted January 31, 2010 Author Share Posted January 31, 2010 Hi Christian .. Thats the problem... apart from the orange stained bedding the other week [ which did not scream egg yolk out to me ] I have not found any egg shell pieces lying around, Maybe they have just stopped laying ... I will reserve judgment on the little monkeys ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Redwing Posted January 31, 2010 Share Posted January 31, 2010 I have an eg eater, she eats all of the egg, shell and all and the only clue is wet bedding, sometimes it looks dry on top but when I clean out the nestbox the bedding is clumped together and is sticky, thats how I tell she has been playing games again Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eggasperated Posted January 31, 2010 Share Posted January 31, 2010 Carol spent ages in the nest box today then came out and passed some jelly like stuff which she and Alice promptly ate before I could stop them. I don't quite know what's going on with her egg production system at all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
emchook Posted February 1, 2010 Author Share Posted February 1, 2010 I have been out all day and just went out to put them to bed. There were two eggs in the nest box .. One is broken and the other is perfect .. As I have been having problems with the odd thin shell .. is it being checked with a beak after being laid ? Or is it being stepped on as the chook makes her way out ? If it was an egg eater .. then wouldnt both have been broken ? Confused Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Egluntyne Posted February 3, 2010 Share Posted February 3, 2010 Often they will demolish an egg that has already broken because of a thin shell, but are too dim to associate whole eggs with the tasty treat. I'd try to address the thin shell problem first ,in your situation. I'd try either the limestone flour and cod liver oil combo, or go for a soluble calcium and Vit D3 supplement such as ZolcalD. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
emchook Posted February 4, 2010 Author Share Posted February 4, 2010 Just to let you know that I had a 2 egg day yesterday and a 3 egg today and not a sign of shell or yolk anywhere !! The egg eating must have been down to the odd thin shell ... You were right again Egluntyne ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
