I believe I have them beat! My layers' production had dropped off dramatically, and I was confused as to the reason. I have seven hens and a rooster, and was getting six or seven eggs a day. They're not moulting, although these girls have always been bad at feather picking. They have a feeder that is always full of lay pellets. One bag of feed smelled a little off, and I was blaming that, and the cold weather.

Then I caught the little stinkers at it! I'm not exactly sure who breaks the eggs, but they all eat them. And when a hen is in the nest, the rest are standing staring at her, waiting expectantly for their 'treat'.

Instead of posting a question here, I read through many of the old threads in the archives. The first thing I did was provide them with a nice wash basin full of whole oats, oyster shell and hen grit. The oats to increase their fibre and help stop the feather picking. The hen grit to aid digestion, and the oyster shell to toughen up the shells. On Sundays they will get a cup of cat food. This increased protein should help with the feather picking as well. I have put some plastic easter eggs in one nest. I have not yet filled one with mustard (need to go shopping first). And I've ordered some 'Anti-pick Lotion' and some fake nest eggs. And my next step was to be catch the stinkers one by one and use a nail clippers on the tips of their beaks. However, these last few steps may not be necessary.

I started this new 'feeding program' four days ago. And I've been gathering the eggs every hour, and am finding some very frustrated hens. It seems the oyster shell has kicked in, and the shells are considerably harder. Some of the eggs have pretty decent gouges (sp) in them, so they've been trying to break them for sure, but being unsuccessful. I got seven eggs yesterday, and six so far today and it's just noon. I will watch the easter eggs and see which one is their favorite, and try the mustard trick. And after I go shopping I'll also start adding the cider vinegar to their water to aid the absorbtion of the calcium from the oyster shell.

Hubby is sure the rooster is to blame for all my problems, but he considers him just a waste of feed anyway. He's a barred rock and as far as roosters go, he's very mild mannered. I intend to incubate, (therefore the rooster is necessary) and hopefully set the eggs easter weekend aiming to hatch the same day my meat birds arrive so I can brood together. So my project for this afternoon is to read through all the threads about incubation, and perhaps a google search as well.

Hope everyone has a wonderful day!

-- Bernie from Northern Ontario (bernadette_kerr@hotmail.com), March 04, 2002

Answers

Allright Bernie, someone who acually READS the paragraphs at the head of the forum and then checks the archives! That is great! I think you are taking just the right steps and am anxious to learn how things go. It is just sometimes more than I can handle when no one bothers to read those first directions and asks stuff that has been answered so many times before. However, that is what the forum is for I know, and it is fun to see someone use all the hints and put them to the test! Great! LQ

-- Little Quacker (carouselxing@juno.com), March 04, 2002.

Hi Bernie!

I've never tried mustard but we have used Tabasco sauce and that helped. We've even put tabasco sauce on a chicken that had a cut, (the chickens thought it was blood) and they didn't pick each other as badly either. Their beaks are pretty tough to cut with fingernail clippers, we use wire cutters. Sounds brutal, but it works.

Your chickens don't realize it but they're lucky. Persistant egg eaters wind up in the deep freeze at our home.

-- Charleen in WNY (harperhill@eznet.net), March 04, 2002.

You stated that you ordered fake eggs, I always by a package or 2 of the colored plastic ones at EASTER. Some people use golf balls.

Another thing, are you nesting areas in the dimmest part of your building. That helps and at one time I was hanging red hankies at the openings of the nests. I will say that darkening of the nest area is the biggest help.

-- Bonnie (queqid@att.net), March 04, 2002.

My hens are not as well-off as they think!! The chance to stop egg eating is a time-limited thing. I can have have delivery of 20 week old ready-to-lay pullets on April 17. So my girls have until about two weeks before that to be over it. By that time I'll have all the hatching eggs I need, and they can be on their way to chicken heaven in short order, with replacement birds waiting 'in the wings' (sorry, couldn't help it!).

My birds are as much 'school' for me as they are an expensive hobby. I work at a Co-op/ garden centre. I was hired to work in the garden centre three years ago because that's where my strengths were. However, I feel it is also necessary for me to learn all about the 'farm' side of the store as well. I'm a firm believer in learning by doing, but educating yourself first, then jumping in with both feet. So, for the past two summers I've raised meat birds, and had a few layers. The next chapter in my self-imposed education is incubating. I feel much more confident undertaking this project knowing that I have Countryside as a resource. It is a wonderful textbook, with 'live' people behind the written words.

I have three ducks for pond ornaments, and I'm hoping they'll increase that number for me, and meat rabbits are next on the list. Next step is to somehow convince hubby it's all his idea.....

-- Bernie from Northern Ontario (bernadette_kerr@hotmail.com), March 04, 2002.

One thing that I came across that might be of interest to you and your customers. Is that, if you want to make sure that your hens have the best possible natural calcium reserve, then start them on calcium supplements during the two months prior to egg laying age. As two months before laying age, hens start building up their bone density, more specifically the medullar portion of their bones, and this is the reservoir that the hen then uses as a buffer between what is deposited in/on the egg and what the hen absorbs through their diet.

-- BC (desertdweller44@yahoo.com), March 04, 2002.

My egg production has gone down the last few days also. I found out that part of the problem is my new little beagle pups. I have caught them running around with an egg in their mouth. I took them into the coop and whipped their little butts but I'm not sure that is going to teach them a lesson yet.

-- r.h. in okla. (rhays@sstelco.com), March 04, 2002.