Chickens?

[AHPP]

I have an egg pecker. It’s one of five of them. Hen six is currently sitting on four eggs in a DHL box serving as a broody coop. But back to the five. How do I catch the perpetrator, short of CCTV or finding egg on its face?

 

Video for general interest and pleasure. 
 

 

 

[Welshfred]

19 hours ago, AHPP said:

I have an egg pecker. It’s one of five of them. Hen six is currently sitting on four eggs in a DHL box serving as a broody coop. But back to the five. How do I catch the perpetrator, short of CCTV or finding egg on its face?

 

Video for general interest and pleasure. 
 

 

IMG_5483.MOV 20.3 MB · 6 downloads  

 

 

Try and collect eggs regularly to remove opportunity but there is a way to put her off - empty an egg of egg as tidily as you can, fill the empty shell with English mustard, stick back together ( no glues required, just don't make the mustard too runny) and replace in the coop. She'll have a go but she won't like it. It can work although not guaranteed. It's so annoying though so worth a go.

[AHPP]

Cheers. I do similar with the dog thieving off the kitchen counter. Only leave chilis there now. Hasn’t hit yet.

[AHPP]

5/5 and no pecking today. Threats apparently all required. 

[Conor Wright]

We had egg pecking issues before, so for a few days when i removed the eggs I put 3 golf balls in their place. One or two sore beaks later and it stopped!

It can be a sign of a lack of nutrition too, so no harm to give them some crushed oyster shells or similar.

I really need to get some chickens again soon.

A winter of storm damage and pine marten/fox attacks means we haven't had an egg of our own since January. 

In typical fashion I dismantled the old coop and never got around to building a new one.

Shop eggs just don't cut it.

[AHPP]

 

This just in. Two hatched. Other two eggs gone cold. Is a 50% success rate considered good? We think it is.

Edited June 7 by AHPP

[Welshfred]

18 hours ago, AHPP said:

 

This just in. Two hatched. Other two eggs gone cold. Is a 50% success rate considered good? We think it is.

 

I'd be happy with 50% from 4 eggs, in the wild as it were. I've had 70% from an incubator (usually lower, 0% recently so trying again. Hatch day is Tuesday... Hopefully...

Talking probabilities though I wonder what your odds are for 2 hens, 2 roosters or one of each!

[AHPP]

How shut away should the chicks and new mother be? Locked in box? Locked in shed? Locked in run? Free range? Suspect closer to the start of that spectrum. There are loose geese that could eat them.

[Stere]

 

 

Locked in run and no water  buckets as they drown easy

[Welshfred]

25 minutes ago, AHPP said:

How shut away should the chicks and new mother be? Locked in box? Locked in shed? Locked in run? Free range? Suspect closer to the start of that spectrum. There are loose geese that could eat them.

 

I'd be inclined to protect as much as possible but take your cues from the mother. So if you pen her in but she's desperate to get out with the chicks then let her do her thing. Rats, stoats etc will be the greater risk than geese which are at least mostly vegetarian. It's always a gamble at that age but the chicks will benefit from fresh grass or other greenery from the first few days. Good luck!