Our Chicken Adventures Chickens Eating Eggs
Our Chicken Adventures Chickens Eating Eggs
So our chickens started eating their own eggs.
Originally, or first Chickens were eating eggs because of the protein deficiencies associated with only feeding grain.
The ones we got from Kerby I guess were already eating eggs as well. So all of our chickens have been eating their own ages.
Until we made some changes we went a full 6 months of our chickens being laying age without a single egg that e harvested.
This sucked.
After some research I figured out a few things that can break them of it.
The first was to get them more protein. I still can't really do that. Once Kerby comes back down I might be able to get them some extra protein but for now I'm stuck without it until the mealworms grow more.
The second trick is to get fake eggs and set them in the nesting box. These eggs are 5 bucks for 2 and ceramic (fragile). It's taken me until a couple days ago to afford them but u recently bought 2 of them. I'll be trying this out very soon. It's supposed to annoy them enough trying to crack these that they give up.
The third trick I was able to incorporate into the design of my new coop.
Roll out egg boxes.
Again, I built these with scrap pieces of lumber and even the hinges I harvested from an old camper trailer here on the homestead. So 0 money put into this idea.
You can see them in these photos:
Inside the coop these are needing boxes. The floor is angled so that the eggs roll out. Outside I have a door that allows access to each one.
You can see here how the eggs will just roll down to the outer part of the box for collection.
In this entire coop design I've used 0 latches. Instead just using a screw and a wire on all doors. If you zoom in the pictures you can see how over done it.
I want to point out, I'm not intentionally doing ask this without money. I simply have no money and have to figure something out. If you're trying to do something like this with little to no money then my suggestion would be this:
Use what I'm showing as a general guide. A way to inspire you to look around at all the resources and options available that aren't money. Your coop might look totally different because the stiff you can find for free is totally different.
Anyway, if you're chickens are eating their own eggs then try the 3 suggestions over used here.
I now have my mixed breed set laying in the box and not eating them and at least one of the maran hens is also laying in the box. So you can bring them back if they start this habit.
Remember to look at lab of protein as the first answer. We're still working on that one.
Side note: The egg in that picture is actually a copper maran egg. These birds were recently moved. The first eggs we got from them were darker. I expect that they may go back to darker, and that this lighter color is just from stress of the move and new environment.
by Michael David
Co-founder of #thealliance and loyal since before the egg.
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If you would be interested in joining and posting your content in the Homesteading community, I could submit up to two of your posts per week for an OCD upvote. Feel free to ask if you have any questions or concerns about that.
just now saw this...
I would be very interested in that. how does that all work?
Simply join the community (there will be a 'join' button on the Homesteading Community Page). Next time you create a post, there should be an option near the 'Title' box that allows you to post into a community. Once you've joined, Homesteading community should appear in a drop-down list on that option.
There is also a 'write a post' button near the top of the Homesteading Community page.
Let me know if you have any other questions!
Awesome, I'll give it a shot. I think I'm posting one today actually.