Took me 2 years to realize my chickens were eating their own eggs because of a lighting issue

I kept finding broken shells in the coop and thought one of my hens was just being aggressive. Turned out my coop light was on a timer that was way too bright and running 14 hours a day. The hens were stressed and lacking calcium because they were laying too much. Switched to a dimmer bulb on a 12 hour cycle and the egg eating stopped within a week. Anyone else have a weird behavior that was actually just a setup problem?

2 comments

2 Comments

parkerkim4d ago

Lighting issue" is code for "I turned my chicken coop into a 24 hour convenience store and my hens burned out." Honestly 14 hours of bright light sounds like a prison sentence for chickens. They probably started eating their own eggs just to get some peace and quiet. Glad you figured it out before they unionized. Did you end up naming the hen that was eating the most shells?

joseph4484d ago

Ha! Yeah pretty much. 14 hours of that bright light had to feel like working a double shift every single day. Those hens were probably sleep deprived and cranky. Wouldn't surprise me if they started eating eggs just to get some revenge on me. I didn't name the worst offender but I definitely had a suspect. She was always the first one pecking at the shells when I walked in. Honestly I think the whole flock was in on it. They probably had meetings about it while I was at work.