Finally got our chickens

[OldForum]

minidaz
It's been quite a while since i last posted here, but i should be arund a bit more often now

We collected our 4 hybrids at the end of January. 2 x Bovans Nero, 1 x White Star and 1 Silver nick and they all setteld in lovely. We even had 1 egg the next day.

After a few soft shell / no shell eggs, we started getting 2 eggs pretty much every day. These were brown, so from the Bovans. This week, along with the 2 browns, we have started getting a white egg, so one of the others has also started laying

The only downside is that over the last few days, we have found 1 egg that has been pecked / broken and the chickens all having a little taste. We have a shelf in their house and i think what happened the first time was that an egg rolled off ( they have nest boxes but dont always use them ) and cracked.
It does seem that the earlier i let then out, the less chance of them eating their eggs happens ( yesterday, 2 good eggs and 1 slightly pecked egg ), so hopefully they will get out of the habit soon.

But on the plus side, they are all friendly, and my 4 yr old son loves them ... especially when they peck his welly boots

Mo
Thats a nasty habit. Try giving them a shock with a mustard egg (an egg shell with mustard in). It may or may not work.
Are the shells they are pecking soft, or good ones? They will certainly eat any soft egg that comes their way, but I suspect they can also crack good ones if they try. Maybe the shelf needs modifying (edging?) or removing.

Mine aren't doing that at the moment but the last three or four days they've got out of the run, I'm not sure if there might be a couple of eggs somewhere under my holly hedge today (but it's too long and thick for me to look under it all)

Enjoy them, (and curse them too)

minidaz
They have all been good eggs that they've started on.

Yesterday i put another nest box on the shelf ( those printer paper boxes come in very handy ), and then this morning i let them out 30 mins earlier than usual. The result : 2 eggs in the main nest box, 1 egg in the new nest box, and none on the floor. And not one had been pecked

The 4th egg, if we get one, usualy appears later in the day.

Hopefully the egg pecking days are coming to an end.

Wendy
Yes it is a pain. I have one who does this.
I have tried the mustard egg which was eaten. So I did it again with tabasco sauce mixed in with it. They ate that one also LOL.
I have found the only way around it, is to open them up earlier. But with the mornings getting lighter. I will opening them up before I go to bed!!.
I have settled on the fact that they have one and I have what is left, some days.
Wendy

minidaz
Went to let them out this morning and heard the familiar peck peck noise

One egg on the floor was completely in peices, and there was also a broken egg on the shelf. Going to put a edge on the shelf and see if that helps.

Put on the plus side, we had another nice brown and white speckledy egg from the Silver Nick.

I'm sure our chickens must sit on the edge of the nest boxes to lay their eggs