# Spiteful Hens



## WeeLittleChicken (Aug 31, 2012)

So a while ago I posted about my hens going on an egg eating spree, the carnage of which they would leave for me every day... I tried giving them oyster shell. That helped a little but not a lot. Then I tried changing their feed (thinking it didn't have enough calcium.) That didn't appear to do anything... then I gave them a chicken ball filled with meal worms to play with hoping the added mental stimulation would get their minds off how delicious eggs are. 

What caused them to stop eating the eggs? The disappearance of the last bit of snow and more straw in their nest boxes (which they kick out every day... I think for ****s and giggles.) Now I have noticed they get into trouble whenever they feel it is too cold, windy, or rainy to bother going outside. Instead they stay in the coop slurping down eggs and pecking each other's head feathers. UGH.


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## Britt0623 (Apr 14, 2013)

Haha! Hens do have crazy personalities. We got a lot of snow this winter and my hens did not like the snow. They stayed in the coop. But, thank goodness, they did not eat their eggs. Hope your hens find something else to pass time when they are bored. Also, I got my hens one of those balls that you put the worms and they've never played with it.


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## 7chicks (Jun 29, 2012)

Is your run set up so it resists the winter elements? I put on plywood on the North side of mine and plastic wrap the rest of it for the winter months. Top is all roofed. They go out there first thing regardless of how cold out it is because they really would rather scratch around on the frozen ground than be cooped up. Sometimes I'll throw some scratch feed into the run for them too just to give them something to keep them busy for awhile.


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## Apyl (Jun 20, 2012)

I would blow out an egg then inject some hot sauce. lol That might break the egg eating habit.


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## WeeLittleChicken (Aug 31, 2012)

Yeah my hens seemed pretty nonplussed with the meal worm filled chicken ball too. However they were a little more interested in the purple plastic ball I threw in there - they attacked that thing like little chicken ninjas before realizing it wasn't worth eating and then they lost interest again. 

No, my run was not winterized. In fact it got nearly totalled and I have learned my lesson. We have plans for rebuilding it with a roof, twice the size. That should make them happy! 

I was trying to avoid filling an egg with hot sauce or mustard. It seemed like a last resort sort of thing...


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## Energyvet (Jul 25, 2012)

Good luck on the new build.


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## kahiltna_flock (Sep 20, 2012)

Chickens don't mind hot sauce anyway, probably wouldn't work. Mine were eating eggs as well. They were also kicking out the straw in the boxes. I think the eggs were cracking when they laid them on the bare wood, then they would gobble them up. I added another 2-3 inch board across the bottom and I cut cardboard and lined the bottom with that. No more broken eggs, even though they still kick a lot of the straw out. No more egg eating either....as far as I know anyway...good luck


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