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Often, chickens are in misfortune: they stop finding eggs in the amount that chickens should have been carrying. But pieces of eggshell are found in abundance. Inevitably, the conclusion suggests itself that the chickens began to eat their own products. There is always a reason why chickens peck their eggs. But it is rather difficult to identify this reason. In addition, after the onset of this habit, chickens can continue cannibalism even after the cause has been eliminated.
Identifying the culprit
Pecking in hens of laying hens can be produced by any one hen. The trouble is, other birds learn cannibalism very quickly. Yes, a bad example is contagious, as you know. If the population is not very large, you can establish a pest hen by the remains of an egg on the head. In any case, drops of yolk can be seen somewhere. Either near the beak or under the beak. In general, each chicken should be carefully examined.
Among other things, the culprit may also be sick. This is provided that she started pecking with her own products. Having identified the culprit, you need to carefully examine her and make sure that she is healthy, and the reason for eating eggs lies in something else.
Reasons for biting
Most often, chickens peck eggs due to an inadequate diet. In second place are psychological problems arising from crowded content.
The reason for "inadequate diet" is rather vague. More precisely, this is the root cause, since this makes the shell thinner or the chickens may desperately try to make up for the missing elements from the contents of the egg. With thin shells, eggs often crack when dropped from a chicken, or the chicken breaks them inadvertently. The chicken will eat the cracked egg for sure. But shell defects also occur in some diseases.
If chickens peck eggs, they establish the cause and decide what to do depending on the "diagnosis". And the answer to the question “what to do to prevent chickens from pecking eggs” directly depends on the establishment of the cause of pecking. In each case, you will need to apply different methods.
Lack of protein
If a lack of animal protein is the reason why chickens peck their eggs, the answer suggests itself: add animal protein to the feed. To do this, you can use those by-products that are usually thrown away:
- pork skins;
- lungs;
- spleen;
- other parts of animal carcasses.
The products are boiled and passed through a meat grinder, after which they are given to the chickens. If there is actually not enough protein in the feed and the chickens are pecking on the eggs, then the fight against pecking will stop by itself after the introduction of additional animal protein into the diet.
Lack of lysine
It is an essential amino acid that is part of all types of proteins: animal and vegetable. There is a lot of it in meat, eggs, legumes, cod and sardines. There is very little lysine in the cereal grains loved by Russians. If the main component of the diet is wheat or corn, and chickens peck eggs, then the reason is most likely a lack of lysine.
In Russia, you can use peas or beans instead of soybeans, but these are expensive products.
Calcium
Another reason chickens eat eggs is a lack of calcium.In this case, the bird begins to peck at the eggs, needing the shell. The products are eaten without a trace. With luck, the owner will only find a wet spot. If you're unlucky, it will take a long time to think about where the eggs have gone.
But having reached the contents, the chicken will get used to the fact that the egg is food, and will begin to peck due to a bad habit. What to do if chickens peck eggs due to lack of calcium: Provide them with a feed additive in the form of chalk or limestone. Shells are well suited, which at the same time play the role of a tour.
Vitamins
This may be one of the reasons why chickens peck their eggs in winter. The lack of walking leads to the fact that chickens have nowhere to get vitamin D. Plus in the summer, when walking, chickens independently find greens for food. They cannot do this in winter. To avoid pecking due to a lack of vitamins, it is imperative to include vegetables and, if possible, greens in the diet of birds. Vitamin D in winter will provide chickens with ultraviolet lamps. Long walking even in winter will also benefit the birds, at least psychologically. It is necessary to give the chickens the opportunity to walk as much as possible.
Hunger strike
Coop owners have noticed another reason why chickens peck eggs: a hunger strike. All animals get used to a certain feeding regimen. If you regularly delay feeding for several hours, the birds will find their own food and, most likely, it will be eggs. Or a weaker brother.
Poor winter conditions
In crowded conditions of keeping and without sufficient walking in the sun, chickens begin to feel a lack of vitamin D, which affects the calcium-phosphorus balance. What to do if chickens peck eggs in winter due to a lack of ultraviolet radiation - hang a special lamp in the hen house that emits light in the ultraviolet spectrum. Another reason chickens peck eggs in winter is crowding. What to do in this case, if there is no way to resettle the bird - put on them limiting rings from pecking. Such rings not only interfere with pecking eggs, but also save weaker individuals from pecking.
Bad nests
Sometimes the reason chickens eat their eggs is because of cramped nests. What to do in this case, each owner is forced to decide independently. It's not even about psychological discomfort. Most often, eating the product for the first time happens by accident: the laying hen demolished, stood in the nest, turned awkwardly and pierced the shell with a claw. The egg cracked and the contents spilled out. A rare chicken will refrain from eating the leaked contents. And then a bad habit arises. Delicious.
If chickens peck eggs because of this, then there are several recommendations on how to make a nest. Most often, it is advised to plant the birds on a tilted net so that the products roll against the wall. The best option would be industrial cages for layers, in which the eggs roll out on the net. In this case, the chicken will definitely not be able to crush and eat its products.
The second option is to make a hole in the middle of the nest so that the demolished product falls down onto the net.
This method of nesting has serious drawbacks: the hole can be clogged with litter; products may crack if dropped; it is not a fact that the hen will lay an egg near the hole.
Aggressive specimen
Sometimes a chicken starts up in the hen house, which not only terrorizes the neighbors, but also eats the products they have demolished. Such a chicken is bad not only because it eats its own and other people's eggs, but also because other chickens learn by looking at it. Often, it is such a bird that becomes the reason that laying hens peck eggs. It is clear what to do in such a situation: send the aggressor to the soup.
But if this individual is very valuable, out of desperation, you can first try another method. The author of the video talks about his very original way of how to wean chickens from pecking their eggs.
Tried everything, nothing helps
The owner revised the diet, changed the conditions of detention, made sure that there were no provocateurs, and the chickens continue to disgrace. The reason why chickens eat eggs is unclear and what to do is unclear. Most likely, this is an established bad habit, originally from a containment breach. But now it cannot be eradicated by any improvement and one has to resort to other methods.
What to do if the chickens peck eggs and are not going to stop, there are several ways:
- offer tasteless snag;
- plant in industrial cages for layers;
- chop off beaks;
- wear glasses that limit the field of vision;
- put on pecking rings;
- completely eliminate the livestock and introduce new birds.
What to do if chickens continue to bite eggs, the owners decide depending on their own employment and desire. The easiest way to solve the problem if chickens are pecking eggs is to slaughter everyone. But this is often impossible, since the bird may be a rare breed, which is undesirable to put under the knife. Or biting occurs due to a too cramped room that cannot be enlarged.
What to do if chickens peck eggs for psychological reasons or out of habit: put them in cages, chop off their beaks or put on a pecking ring / goggles.
Beak trimming
Not everyone has special tools for this. In addition, trimming a portion of the beak often does not help. You can also break the shell with a blunt beak.
What are glasses and a ring
These devices interfere with the cannibalism of chickens and reduce aggressiveness towards neighbors in the chicken coop.
Glasses come in different modifications. Some of them are reusable, others are disposable. In disposable, a special stopper stick is used, piercing the nasal septum and passing through the nasal openings. Such glasses can later be removed only with the beak.
The pins of reusable glasses often do not close completely and do not damage the nasal septum. Plus, they can be removed and reused when needed.
It is very difficult to unclench such glasses with your hands. The glasses limit the bird's field of vision right in front of the "nose", but do not interfere with eating and drinking, since the peripheral vision in chickens is well developed. Not seeing eggs or a rival chicken directly in front of him does not try to peck them.
The pecking stop ring assumes a constantly open beak of the hen. You can eat and drink with such a ring, but you cannot hammer something, since the bird produces any blow with its closed beak.
Trickery
Some owners of thieving chickens suggest using snags placed in the nests. Often it is an empty shell filled through a syringe with liquid mustard or hot pepper infusion. It is believed that by trying to eat such an "egg", the chicken will get a lot of impressions and stop cannibalism. The disadvantage here is similar to a cramped nest. The shell with a hole is very fragile, and the chicken can crush it before taking a bite.
The grandfather's way of tricking involves making a dummy from a very salty dough.
The dummy is dried and placed instead of the original. They say that having tried to peck such a snag, the chicken will swear to eat eggs for life.
Conclusion
Knowing the reason why the chickens peck the eggs and what to do in each specific case, the owner will definitely be able to get a sufficient amount of products from his layers again.
