Nutrient deficiency- Hens that are craving protein or need more calcium in their diet may resort to egg eating in order to meet their dietary needs. A feed that is nutritionally lacking can also lead to dietary deficiencies that can cause hens to eat their own eggs for needed nutrition.
A chicken may begin eating their eggs if their calcium levels are low. Calcium deficiency causes a chicken to seek out a supplemental diet of egg shell. Chickens may also eat their eggs due to accidental discovery. If a chicken coop is crowded, a chicken can very easily break an egg.
Broody hens usually become reclusive and they hide and become very grouchy as the hormones begin working in their bodies that make them want to sit on a clutch of eggs. Hens preparing to sit on eggs will steal eggs from other nest spots and move them into a nest spot of her choosing.
Remove the Eggs
For most chickens, removing the eggs from under them for a few days will break the broody cycle. They seem to get bored with finding new eggs to sit on every day and decide those little chicks just aren't worth it. Broody Betty will steal eggs for at least a week before she decides to give it up.
Left unattended, a hen will stay broody for around 21 days, which is the time it takes to hatch a clutch of fertile eggs. After 21 days the behavior should stop, but sometimes, a hen will remain broody and it's important to “break,” or stop a broody hen before she harms herself.
Allowing a broody hen to be broody when she doesn't have eggs or chicks is not healthy for her. A broody hen will eat less and drink less, causing her to lose weight and become dehydrated.
Broody hens are slightly different - they have a sudden and strong instinct to sit and hatch eggs. There are ways of discouraging broodiness - see the Broody Chickens section of our Common Chicken Problems page, here - but even a broody hen doesn't get sad about specific eggs being taken away.
No, chickens do not feel any emotions at all when their eggs are taken, in a flock that lays eggs regularly and where the eggs are collected daily. The only time a hen would feel any kind of connection with the eggs is if she is “broody,” that is, ready to sit on a nest of eggs and hatch them.
Since a broody hen will take up nesting box space, it is often best to remove her from the normal laying nesting boxes in the coop and provide her with a brooding box within her brooding pen.
Egg yolk on beak is a dead giveaway. Evidence that there is an egg eater is obvious when inspecting the nest boxes as there will be egg residue at the bottom. For nesting material, I use plastic nest pads for several reasons, including for ease of cleaning the nest boxes and identifying egg-eating chickens.
Oyster shell is one of the most common ways people give their hens calcium. You can purchase crushed oyster shells at your local feed store, typically sold near the layer feed. When buying oyster shells, consider the particle size.
Make sure the hen has plenty of food and fresh water. Move Nesting Area – When the hen returns to the coop, move her nest to a different location to help with the reset. Chill the Nesting Area – Chilling down the broody hen's nest with ice packs can effectively stop her from sitting all day and night brooding.
Create a Private Nesting Area
You can also encourage a hen's broody nature by providing her a dark, safe place to sit on the eggs. Hang some curtains across the front of the nesting boxes, even a piece of sheet or fabric will help convince her the nest is a secret place to raise her chicks.
During her broody period, she will not eat a whole lot, and you shouldn't be surprised if she doesn't even leave the nest for the first day or two. Once she does leave the nest, it'll only be to eat, drink and poop, and then she'll head back to her eggs.
Chickens can recognize up to 100 faces—and have been found to associate the faces they remember with the positive or negative experiences. Chickens can also show love and affection for the humans who care for them, and they certainly remember the humans they know and how those humans may have treated them.
Most people don't get chickens for affection, however many owners will agree that they share a special bond with their chickens. Just as dogs are devoted and loyal, chickens show their affection for example by following you around. They can even run to you when you call them or eat treats out of your hand.
While a hen is broody and sitting on a nest, she will put all her energy in to sitting on eggs, and neglect herself in the process. She will only leave the nest to eat, drink, and relieve herself once or twice a day.
Most hen keepers remove the eggs from nest boxes daily but the broody hen will continue sitting on an empty nest, exhibiting the same behaviour. The understandable reaction from many worried owners is to seek out fertilized eggs to put under their broody girl.
Chickens cannot tell the difference between fertilized and unfertilized eggs.
Eggs usually become fertile about four days after the rooster has been introduced to the hens. A maximum of 14 to 16 eggs may be brooded in one nest, but hatchability often declines with more than ten eggs, depending on the size of the hen.
The heat can cause a nesting hen to overheat, become dehydrated, and even die. Extreme cases of broodiness may result in deterioration of the hen's health. A hardcore broody may not leave the nest for days on end, whereas some may not leave at all, starving themselves or dying due to dehydration.
A broody hen will hog the nesting box and not allow other hens to lay their eggs in 'her' box. Since chickens usually all want to use the same box, having a broody sitting in the box all day can lead to squabbling, jockeying for position and broken eggs if other hens do manage to lay their eggs in the box.
The onset of broodiness is governed by hormonal production within its body. Very common in rare breeds and less common in hybrid hens. Some hens can be in an almost permanent state of broodiness.