will our ducks and geese eat the hens eggs

C

CarolynEarley

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When our hens lay eggs and lay in the grounds rather than the nesting boxes we will have to hunt for the eggs. Someone said to put some eggs into the nesting boxes so they can see them and that might help, is this a good idea? Also, will our ducks, geese and turkeys break the shells and eat the eggs if they get there first? :?
 
Hello, yes, get some dummy eggs ( loads on-line and very cheap) and put some in the nest boxes-and try to make the nest boxes as dark as possible- your other birds shouldn't touch the eggs- and if they try the dummy ones first then they can't break them so will not bother when the real ones come along.
regards, David :)
 
okay thanks, we have put in real eggs until we get some dummies! I am not sure if we can get them in Crete or get them delivered here but will try
 
distaster :roll: We put in some eggs from the shop and one of them has been broken and eaten. I have taken the other eggs out now, but how do we stop this from happening when we get the real thing? I am wondering now whether they have been breaking and eating ones that our hens have laid and we just haven't found the evidence - they have almost 2000 square metres of land to wander in! The hens are now nearly 23 weeks old. What do we do? We cannot find any dummy ones here and they won't deliver to Crete if ordering over internet.
 
Hello, if only one was broken- it is highly unlikely they are eating them- sometimes the break them by accident- standing on them- especially if there are a lot in the nests- once an egg is broken- all hens will eat it- but wont necessarily break them. Try to put some hard boiled eggs in -or golf balls even work- :D If you find them smashing and eating the eggs- fill a hollow egg with mustard and put it out for them-
regards, David :)
 
Hi David. Thanks for that. We have a couple of eggish sized/shaped stones from the beach, could these do as well as golf balls? :)
 
We discovered two geese with egg yolk on them and a broken egg in a nesting box. We quickly removed the box and removed the remains of the egg and shell. I have put some more egg size stones in and put some mustard into some empty egg shells as I heard this will discourage the geese and other poultry from breaking eggsto eat them in the future. Will this work and is there anything else we can do? :roll:
 
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