DOUBTS ABOUT THE MAGICAL WORLD OF POULTRY? #ASK THE EXPERT!
When hens eat freshly laid eggs
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My hens are eating their own freshly laid eggs, what can I do?
The egg is the result of reproductive activity and the hen defends it in the best possible way.
However, sometimes it happens that hens eat their own eggs.
This happens when wrong nests are used or in other situations that cause the egg breaking.
When a hen discovers that there is a coloured ball (yolk) inside the shell, it curiosity is immediately aroused and it pecks at the other eggs to check for the presence of the “red ball”.
From an accidental situation, curiosity and the ‘desire to play’ soon turn into a vice.
If one, or just a few, hens start this “game”, immediately the others imitate the first ones and in a short time all the animals will be hunting for eggs to break and eat.
We must not forget that animals learn by imitation.
To prevent these situations it is necessary to avoid the causes of egg breakage: it is important to pay great attention to the construction of the nest and the number and arrangement of nests within the chicken coop.
When, on the other hand, the hens have already acquired this vice, it is possible to limit the damage by using little ‘glasses’ that limit the hens’ vision.
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