How to Keep Your Chickens From Eating Their Eggs

Nothing is more frustrating than coming out to the coop to gather eggs, only to face a messy nest with empty eggshells. Argh! To add insult to injury, once hens figure out just how tasty their eggs are, it can be very challenging (if not nearly impossible) to stop. 

So, what should you do if your hens start eating their own eggs? I’ve experienced my fair share of egg-eating hens over the years and thankfully, I’ve been able to fix it every time by using the steps that I outline in this post.

The key is figuring out WHY they are doing it in the first place and correcting it quickly before it becomes a habit. Let’s dive in!

5 eggs in a nesting box, but one has been broken open

*Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links to products (including Amazon). Iโ€™ll earn a small commission if you make a purchase through my link, at no additional cost to you! Regardless, I only link to products that I personally use on our homestead or believe in.

Why Do Chickens Eat Their Eggs?

Why the heck is my hen eating her own eggs?! It seems almost… cannibalistic, doesn’t it? While egg eating is technically a form of cannibalism, it usually starts in a benign way rather than a malicious intent. Don’t worry, you likely don’t have a murderer in your coop!

Nutrient deficiencies

More often than not, egg eating starts because of a nutritional deficiency in a hen’s diet. Protein and calcium are the main culprits here and since eggs are an excellent source of both, it makes sense that a hen would start craving her eggs if she needs a little boost!

Accidental finding

Sometimes, an egg will accidentally get broken in the nest, and a hen will start to peck at it out of curiosity. She’ll quickly realize how delicious they are and maybe some of her flock friends will run over to check it out as well. Yummm!!!

Uh oh! What started as an accident has now spiraled into the flock looking for more tasty treats.

A photo of a line of hens foraging in the lawn

Crowding

I know that I feel stressed when I’m in a crowded location, and chickens are no different! If they don’t have much space, they can get agitated and start pecking at anything around them – eggs, each other, you name it. The eggs can also get accidentally broken if there’s a lot of commotion in the coop or not enough nesting boxes. 

Step 1: How to Prevent Egg Eating

Prevention is KEY! Once egg-eating becomes a habit, it’s really hard to break. Start here no matter what – even if you already have an established egg eater. Sometimes all you need to do is something simple like add free-choice calchium or modify their nesting boxes to correct the issue.

Provide adequate calcium

In my experience, insufficient calcium levels are the #1 reason why chickens start to eat their own eggs. Whenever I discover an eaten egg in a nesting box I automatically check their free-choice calcium hopper and sure enough, it’s usually empty when this occurs. Once I refill it, the problem immediately goes away. Voila!

Eggshells are made primarily of calcium carbonate (98.2% to be exact!), the same material as oyster shells. So, when the hens feel like they are a little short, it totally makes sense that they’d go for their eggs. They also lay weak-shelled eggs if they don’t get enough calcium, so they are much easier to break (on purpose or accidentally). 

Close up view of empty eggshells on a sheet pan

*Read more about providing calcium for chickens in my article Should You Feed Eggshells to Chickens?

Provide adequate protein

Protein is essential for chickens as it supports proper growth, development, and good egg production. If a hen isn’t getting enough protein in her diet, she’ll start looking elsewhere, and guess what’s FULL of protein…. eggs!

  • Make sure you’re feeding a well-balanced layer feed that has adequate amounts of protein (16-18% is ideal, but they may need even more during times of stress like molting and winter)
  • Limit feeding low-protein snacks too often such as scratch grains, fruit, and greens 
  • Feed high-protein snacks like black soldier fly larvae, mealworms, and even meat!
  • Allow your ladies to forage daily so they can find their own high-protein goodies (bugs, frogs, and mice!)
  • Ensure that you’re providing grit so they can digest and utilize the protein properly

Collect eggs often

This step helps in multiple ways. First, if you snag the egg right away, then it reduces the risk that they’ll eat it before you do! Secondly, a big pile of eggs is just oh-so-tempting and can also trigger a hen to go broody, which will increase traffic in the nest. Lastly, eggs are more likely to get broken if they are all stacked on top of each other, rather than just a few nestled in soft bedding.

A photo showing a basket full of colorful eggs outside.

Provide adequate space

You’d get annoyed if you were penned up with your siblings for an extended time too, right? Chickens are no different. Sometimes all they need is a bit more elbow room and this will reduce stress and accidents in general.

Isolate broody hens

Broody hens are sure to cause a ruckus in the nesting box! They’ll fiercely guard their clutch of eggs and more often than not, that nest also happens to be the favorite spot of the other ladies. As a result, other hens will try to weasel their way into the party and eggs can easily get broken in all of the commotion.

So, I’m always in favor of relocating broody hens with their clutch of eggs to an isolated location like a dog kennel, brooder pen, or a chicken tractor. While this can be tricky to set up, it really is best for everyone. The broody hen gets a quiet spot to raise her young while the nesting boxes remain available for the hens that are laying.

Baby chicks sitting in front of their broody mama hen inside a brooder

Avoid bright lights in the nesting area

Hens like a dark, cozy location when they lay their eggs. They want to feel safe! So, if their nesting boxes are in a brightly lit location with minimal cover, this makes them feel stressed and increases picking behavior.

  • Leave the coop lights off during the day (or at least in the morning, when the majority of laying occurs)
  • Add coop curtains to the nesting boxes
  • Move the feeder from inside the coop to the outdoor run to limit daytime traffic by the nesting boxes

Donโ€™t feed whole eggshells

I catch people doing this all the time! While I love feeding eggshells back to my hens to replace the calcium that they’ve lost, there’s definitely a right and a wrong way to do it.

  • DON’T just toss the eggshells (whole and sticky) out to your flock – you’re basically just teaching them to eat their own eggs with this method
  • INSTEAD, let them fully dry, then crush them up into small, unidentifiable pieces. Then, pour them into a coop cup to let them access as free-choice calcium. Read more about it in my article Should You Feed Eggshells to Chickens?

Crushed eggshells inside a ziplock bag

Keep docile breeds

Some breeds are simply easier to manage than others. Keeping docile breeds such Brahmas, Cochins, Delawares, Orpingtons, and Wyandottes can limit issues related to egg-eating! Avoid flighty and anxious breeds such as Anconas, Appenzellers, Hamburgs, Leghorns, and Minorcas.

Step 2: How to Correct Egg Eating

If the egg-eating situation is already in full force and you’ve already implemented the prevention strategies above, it’s time to move on to the next phase. Those ladies sure can be stubborn, but don’t worry, I still have a few tricks up my sleeve!

Utilize wooden eggs

This is a great strategy that’s effective, inexpensive, and easy to implement. All you need to do is add a few wooden eggs to the nesting boxes and watch it work. When the problem hen pecks at it, instead of being rewarded with a tasty treat, she’ll experience the shock of a hard object with no reward. Over time, she’ll decide it’s not very fun anymore.

The Homesteading RD's Product Picks:

Perfectly shaped wooden eggs that have a natural appearance and are hard to break. Your hens won't know the difference, so these will encourage laying AND correct any egg-eating tendencies.

*TIP: Adding wooden eggs to nesting boxes also encourages hens to lay in that location, so I ALWAYS keep a few in there! This is especially helpful when you have pullets that are just starting to lay and are learning the ropes.

Maximize entertainment

If you’re not able to let your hens out to free range daily, they are probably a bit bored! Do your best to make their environment as exciting as possible so that they don’t resort to bad behaviors out of boredom.

  • String a head of cabbage from the rafters of the run for them to peck at
  • Give them a small amount of treats such as fresh pineapple, celery, apples, blackberries, bananas, or grapes!
  • Grow them some fodder in the winter
  • Add a chicken swing
  • Provide a large, covered run so that they have lots of outdoor space to enjoy year-round
  • Add roosting bars to the covered run – a flock favorite at my coop!

Chickens up on roosting bars that are set up in the run

Add rollaway nests

Rollaway nests are a great way to solve the problem 100% of the time. It’s designed at a slight slope so that when the egg is laid, it rolls gently down and away from the nest and into a collection tray. Once in the tray, it’s fully protected from being broken, eaten, or pooped on. Clean eggs, guaranteed!

The Homesteading RD's Product Picks:

If you have a flock size of 5-10 hens, then this is an awesome choice! It features a perch and  rollaway design to keep your eggs clean. The removable trays and metal design makes this nesting box extremely simple to clean. 

This one is the same design as the 2 Compartment Roll Out Nesting Box above, but is a better fit if you have a flock size of 10-15 hens.

However, that’s if your hens actually use it. I had a rollaway nest for 5-6  years and while I LOVED it, my hens did not. They were constantly trying to bypass the whole thing and lay their eggs in the corners of my coop instead. If I was diligent about keeping the bedding out of the coop corners, they would finally resort to using it.

Create an unpleasant experience

Thankfully, I’ve never had to resort to this next step, but I’ve heard that it works on those stubborn cases! What you can do is poke a hole in an egg and drain out the contents, then refill it with something that they find distasteful like ground mustard. Ish! Make sure you’re not using anything that’s toxic to chickens.

Try some Peepers

Have you ever heard of pinless peepers? They are essentially blinders that keep them from pecking at each other, or their eggs! I feel like this is a pretty drastic measure, but is worth considering if you’re at the point of needing to move on to the next step below.

The Homesteading RD's Product Picks:

These prevent chickens from seeing what's directly in front of them, but they can still see from the side. Reduces flock picking and egg eating. Make sure to choose the right size for your flock!

Remove the culprits

If all else fails, you may need to consider removing that stubborn hen that just won’t break the habit. Unfortunately, egg eating can spread to other flock members once they see how much fun it is so it’s important to correct it quickly.

Other Chicken Articles Youโ€™ll Love:

Blog post promo photo for article how to care for chickens

*Information in this article was referenced from personal experience and/or from my favorite chicken book Storeyโ€™s Guide to Raising Chickens unless otherwise noted.

The Homesteading RD's Product Picks:

This is THE chicken book to have! I've had my copy since the beginning and it's the one that I keep going back to time after time. It provides everything you need to know from coop design, hatching chicks, layer nutrition, and much more! 

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