The number of eggs you are getting each day has plummeted for no reason. You’re finding messy leftovers in the nest box like what a predator might leave but your hens are all unharmed. The clues are leading you to suspect there is an egg eater in your flock. But who is it? Here is how to stop an egg eating hen (with the intent of sparing her life!)
How to Identify & Stop an Egg Eating Hen
The first sign of trouble is a drop in the number of eggs you are collecting each day while encountering sticky, damp nest box litter. Remaining eggs may be perfectly clean or splattered with egg whites that have dried and made a mess. Certain colored eggs might always be missing or always be left. You may notice a specific hen regularly entering the nest box but you never find her unique egg. Strangely, the egg eating hen may leave her own eggs alone but greedily consume those laid by others. You might notice a particularly well-fed looking hen frequently milling around the nest boxes while everyone else is busy scratching and pecking in the run. These are all signs of an egg eating hen.
Take Action Quickly
The very first step to take is to immediately increase the amount of protein the entire flock is being fed and offer flaked oyster shell free-choice. (Affiliate link.) Sometimes this can remedy the situation, especially if the issue just began or you caught a hen eating a broken egg in the nest box and you aren’t sure if she deliberately broke it open.
Rule Out Accidental Breakage First
Occasionally very large bodied breeds like Marans, Cochins or Brahmas tread upon eggs in the nest box and accidentally break them, which the other hens then find and opportunistically consume. This is not a true egg-eating problem but a breakage issue. The nest box needs a deeper layer of straw or hay to better cushion the eggs and older hens laying brittle, thin-shelled eggs may need to be cycled out of the flock. If you have already increased the nesting material depth and the box is still a mess every day from spilled egg whites, you have an egg-eating hen.
Identifying the Guilty Hen
The guilty hen will likely have dried egg yolk – or something that looks yucky and crusty – on her beak, face and feet. This is almost always your egg-eater, who is using her beak to crack the eggs open then going in face-first to devour the yolk and whites, which often spill out onto her feet as she eats. She may or may not eat the shell but it is usually gone, too, because it was consumed by an innocent flock mate who happened upon it. You may also catch that hen regularly going in and out of the coop to check the nest box every time a flock mate leaves it to see if there is an egg.
Isolate the Offending Hen
It is necessary to remove the egg eater to re-train her. She must be isolated if you want to solve the problem without slaughtering the hen for meat. If you happen to have a broody hen in the coop, the egg eater will quickly target the more protein-rich developing eggs and eat the chicks inside them, even on the day of hatch. She must temporarily be removed from the flock before anyone else picks up her horrible habit. You’ll know you have the right hen isolated when your egg count goes up and you begin getting eggs from hens you thought were not laying. (Egg eating hens may be consuming up to a half dozen eggs per day.)
Temporarily Switch Her to a Diverse, Higher Protein Diet
Once the offending hen is isolated in a separate cage, we are going to try to break her habit. First, we are going to increase the amount of protein the hen is fed. It may seem like you’re giving a naughty bird treats but we’re actually re-training her diet. We’re going to teach her that scratching and pecking for her own food on the ground is delicious and eggs are undesirable.
What to Feed
Chickens tend to dislike pelleted layer feed so we aren’t going to offer any. Instead give her a small amount of 18-22% protein crumbles with a blend of scratch grains, bird seed mix, meal worms and flaked oyster shell. (I would consider meal worms a must because most hens begin egg eating because of a protein or protein + calcium deficiency.) Also give her scrambled or hard boiled eggs and the best fruit and veggie scraps from the kitchen, such as lettuce greens and strawberry tops. Consider purchasing inexpensive feeder crickets from the pet store to also feed since hens love bugs. Leftover meats, beef fat trimmings, cooked chicken and steak bone scraps can be offered as a less expensive protein source if necessary. In short, you’re going to feed her natural foods on the ground until she’s satiated. I know this may be considered an ‘unbalanced’ diet by all the commercial chicken feed companies but the reality is the hen will naturally consume what she needs in the ratios her body currently requires. The quality of protein in the commercial feed itself may be partly to blame so natural protein sources she’s certain to consume become necessary during re-training.
Freed from the Pecking Order
Sometimes a hen is just low enough in the pecking order that she doesn’t get enough of the best protein treats you feed but is not so low in the pecking order that she has accepted scratching and pecking all day for her own bugs. If the hen dislikes 16% layer feed and eats almost none of it, she’s suffering from a deficiency. For right now, we need to help the hen get her protein and calcium levels up while encouraging scratching and pecking on the ground for her own food.
Cage the Hen on Grass
If possible, place the isolated hen on a fresh patch of grass during the day. This can be accomplished by using a wire dog kennel with the plastic bottom tray removed, a bottomless brooder box or a chicken tractor. Sprinkle the grass generously with meal worms, scratch grains, bird seed, 1 tablespoon of flaked oyster shell and a few 18-22% protein crumbles. (Do not fret if she refuses to eat the commercial feed. Natural seeds, bugs, grains and grasses taste much better to hens.) Release a feeder cricket or two. We want her to spend her day scratching and pecking for her food. Move her crate to fresh grass as needed and ensure she has plenty of grains to find. If you work away from home, you can place the caged hen on the ground inside the coop or run and sprinkle her inner cage area generously with food, lettuce greens and half of a cucumber. This waterer is wonderful for cage use and she will quickly learn to use it. NutriDrench or poultry electrolyte mixes can be added to the water to give her even more vitamins. (Affiliate links.)
Next, Coat a “Bait” Egg in Essential Oil
Many essential oils are wonderful for chickens but there are a few they do not care for, namely citrus, that will not harm them in small doses. (This dislike of citrus essential oils is why chickens will not eat citrus fruit peels.) The drops of citrus essential oils you apply to a bait egg is roughly equal to the peels from two or three oranges; nowhere near a dangerous dose, which is measured in more fluid ounces than a standard 15 ml bottle of essential oil holds. Select an egg that you do not mind going to waste. Coat the shell of the egg heavily in any citrus essential oil, especially orange or grapefruit. If you are worried about using citrus, opt for spearmint or peppermint essential oil instead.
Introduce the Bait Egg
Place this essential oil egg on a small nest-like pile of straw or hay in the cage with her but do not place it in her nest box. We want her to continue using a nest box normally and citrus scents will drive her away from it. As she lays, collect her fresh eggs very quickly, noting the time of day and assuming the next day’s egg will come 1-2 hours later. Remove the bait egg overnight and secure her safely away from nocturnal predators. Every day re-apply citrus essential oils to the same bait egg and return it to the straw pile. While using the bait egg to train her, she should still have access to fresh grass, scratch and be given a higher protein diet. The hen should be kept well fed by the mix you place in the grass for her to find. It is also fine to provide scrambled or mashed hard boiled eggs in the grass that must be eaten up off the ground. If this attracts a few ants, she will eat those, too.
If She Kicks or Breaks the Bait Egg
The hen will probably scratch or kick the bait egg out of the way while hunting for bugs, maybe even breaking it. If you have coated it heavily enough with essential oil, the contents should be undesirable to her. You should find the egg moved or broken but uneaten. Remove a cracked or broken bait egg and replace with a new one again heavily coated in essential oil. (We want the inside contents of the egg hopefully impregnated with citrus essential oils.) If she eats the broken egg, you did not use enough, or the essential oil you used was too weak. Switch to something more potent or a different citrus oil. The hen should act repulsed by the bait egg.
Cracked Egg Test
After 3-4 days of the hen being isolated and re-trained with the bait egg untouched, it is time for the final step. The crate should be moved to fresh grass loaded with the usual blend of meal worms, scratch and flaked oyster shell and the hen given time to eat her breakfast. You will then crack the bait egg on a paper plate so the yolk is plainly visible. To the yolk you will add a few drops of citrus essential oil and present her the egg. One bite will be all that is needed to cure the hen. It will taste awful to her so ensure there is fresh water for her to drink to help get the citrus oil taste out of her mouth. (Again, this tiny amount of citrus oils will not harm her.) You will need to observe the hen for fifteen or twenty minutes during this step. She will likely show interest in the raw egg but should abandon it after investigating it or taking one bite. Once she has refused to eat the egg for at least ten minutes, remove it. The hen is ready to return to the flock.
Re-Introducing the Hen
In her absence, the pecking order of the flock has shifted. She may find herself ranking even lower, which is good. As a lower-ranking hen she will have to scratch and peck for her own food and be driven out of the nest box faster.
Provide Greater Food Variety
Ensure you are providing more food variety than just pelleted commercial feed so she doesn’t immediately return to egg eating. It is fair to assume that hen may refuse to eat the original brand of pelleted feed forever so now may be a good time to switch. Kitchen scraps and chicken scratch are healthy foods you can offer daily. The hens will eat what their bodies need. Green vegetable scraps, garden weeds and grass clippings should never be considered a treat so feed them freely.
Helping Her Training Stick
You can help foster the offending hen’s good habits by providing some enrichment over the next two weeks. Giving a flake of chopped straw with extra whole or rolled oats mixed in is a great way to keep hens busy. Simply toss it into the run for a few hours of scratching and pecking fun. A bucket load of grass clippings, leaves or pulled garden weeds can provide the same interest, especially if raisins or grains are added in. Chickens love bugs so don’t skimp on the meal worms. They can also be fed raw beef fat trimmings cut from steaks, roasts or briskets you are preparing for your family if the meal worm bill is getting high. (Remember that chickens are cousins to vultures and hawks that subsist by eating raw meat daily and hens will consume frogs and lizards raw.)
What if the Hen Goes Back to Egg Eating?
If the hen returns to her bad habit after your attempt at re-training her, you still have options. You can choose to repeat the re-training process for a longer length of time and switch to a different way of feeding your entire flock when you re-introduce her. You may opt to permanently move her to a coop where she will not be able to eat as many eggs, such as in a juvenile grow-out pen or rooster pen. You could also invest in a roll-out nest box. (Affiliate link.) If the hen is actively shooing other girls off the nest to consume their fresh laid eggs while desirable food was plainly available, re-training her may no longer be an option. There seems to be a point where a hen decides she prefers raw egg yolk to all other foods and becomes incurable. Such a hen cannot be trusted around newly hatched chicks as she will sometimes eat them, too. It is best if this cannibalism is not bred forward into your flock.
An Ounce of Prevention
If you’d like to ensure you don’t have to deal with an egg eating hen (again), here are some preventative steps you can take:
Gather Eggs More Quickly
Hens tend to lay their eggs in the morning through 4 pm. Collecting eggs more quickly can prevent future issues. If you work and are not home, consider investing in roll-out nesting boxes that will save you from dealing with this issue ever again. (Affiliate link.)
Offer Flaked Oyster Shell
Flaked oyster shell – not the nugget style often sold in feed stores – is delicious to hens. (Affiliate link.) Offering a little free choice each week can ensure hens never experience a drop in calcium levels. It is also a good idea to feed egg shells back to the flock. Contrary to common fears, feeding empty, crushed egg shells to chickens does not create egg eating hens. You may find your flock is hesitant to eat an egg shell half that is still too round and egg-looking. I’ve found hens seem to prefer tiny egg shell pieces so feel free to crush the shells completely before giving them back to your girls.
Switch to a Higher Percent Protein Feed
When I put 8 week old juveniles in with my adults, I switch everyone to 22% grower crumbles until the pullets begin laying. The adults love it! While I know very high protein diets are associated with hens becoming egg bound, I have had no issues with the flock being fed 18-22% crumbles for most months of the year with flaked oyster shell always offered freely. (When the birds go into the pasture, they spend their entire day eating spiders, bugs and worms, which are much higher in protein any ways.) If your hens are acting repulsed by 16% layer pellets and refusing to eat very much of them, there is reason to worry about potential egg eating. Try switching to a higher percent protein feed for one bag and watch the quality of the eggs you get to determine if it is the right decision for your flock.
Offer a Higher Percent Protein Feed During Molting
Molting, bug population drops and egg eating sometimes coincide. Exhausted hens who have just survived the blazing heat of summer – which seemed to drive away all the yummy bugs – may enter into an early fall molt and start egg eating at the same time. If you notice bugs disappearing because of late summer drought or early fall freezes, consider upping the hen’s protein feed. Feeding 18% protein is a common old farmer practice during the heaviest months of molting. You may even find 18% feed marketed as ‘feather fixer’ at the store. If your hens are regularly offered flaked oyster shell and weekly grass ranging of some sort, their calcium and trace mineral needs will be met so do not fear switching to a non-layer feed. They are typically not laying while molting any ways.
Offer Grass or Pasture Ranging Time if Possible
There is no guarantee that letting hens have access to grass and bugs will prevent egg eating but it is believed to reduce the likelihood. Hens who can consume weeds, wild grass seed, spiders and insects obtain needed nutrition which they don’t need to raid the nest box to find.
In Closing
I hope this article has been helpful in guiding you on how to stop an egg eating hen. May your flock enjoy peaceful, quiet days and your egg basket be always full!
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