My pet chicken needs help!?

Question

My pet chicken keeps pecking open all the eggs in our coop and eating the yolks. I gather them in the morning, but I'm busy all day and can't keep her away! I'm not putting her in a cage in the middle of the summer, either. What can I put in her food to keep her from eating the eggs?! The other chickens are catching on to this as well! HELP!

Ironicly this chicken is named Skunk.

Answer 1

oyster shell. She is needing calcium.

Answer 2

its not that they need calcium or anything so dnt go buy oyster shell right away some hens become picky and IF u let it keep doing this all your chickens  including the males will be eating the eggs befor you do you have to keep it away from any eggs for a long while even if she lays some she will eat them

besides the mix of grains and cracked corn you feed your hens make sure to give them plenty of fresh greens aswell they'll love it and it also distracts them and wont poke theyre eggs they also love mealworms and earthworms ,crickets ,grasshopers and mostly any insect

fresh greens i feed mine include grapes.-onion chives -cilantro -lettuce-coliflower-brocoli(brocoli has calcium in it)-cabbage- bell peppers-corn -watermelon-potatos -beets-carrots-brusle sprouts and weeds from the garden they also love to eat my grass

Answer 3

I had this to happen as well and I thought it was a survival thing. . . one hen not wanting any other eggs to hatch or survive.

  I read up on this and found out that I was the problem and not the chicken.

  I was scrimping on the Layer Crumbles that I add to the Scratch (mixed grains) which I understand from the Backyard Chicken site that I researched is the most common mistake made by beginners in chicken raising.

   In an effort to save money and make my feed stretch,I was mixing 50lb of Scratch with 25lbs of Layer Crumbles when I should have been mixing it equally.

   Seems as though the Crumbles has vitamins/minerals that laying hens need and by scrimping in my mixing,the hens were getting those minerals/vitamins from the eggs they were eating.

    Once I realized my mistake and starting mixing in equal parts my problem was resolved!

     I treat my ducks and chickens ocassionally with diced fresh veggies and fruits.   I ocassionally allow them to graze outside their pen (I live in the country) so to eat green grass.

     In the winter time when green grass is not so plentiful I feed alfalfa hay. . . . . Greenery helps to make yolks that pretty yellow.

Good Luck

Answer 4

If shes eating yolk she probably needs extra protien in her diet.You can buy a high protien feed but I prefer to use ground up kitty chow every few days .Also make sure she has food avalable at all times.If she wants to eat and cant find what she needs she will get it where ever she needs.

Answer 5

Do not mix scratch in with your layer feed. Layer is 16% protein and scratch is 9%. A 50/50 mix gives you a feed that is only 12.5% protein and had cut the added vitimins, minerals, and calcium in half. Scratch is the poultry equivalent of donuts and cookies. Use it as treats. I also use it for my roosters and for everyone in the winter.

Now, for the egg-eating.... Bad news, once a hen knows just how good those things taste, you won't cure her that easily. And, she will teach it to everyone else! You can use a nest box with a sloped bottom and a hole at one end so the egg will roll away and into a safe place, but that is a pain to build. You can also put a bunch of golfballs in the nest so that when she pecks at them, she will not be rewarded. There are lots and lots of other remedies on the internet, but I've not found the answer myself (I raise 300 chicks a year).

Separate her before they all start to do it.