Hens pecking and eating eggs. Help me stop it!

[PinkHairbrushClub]

I have an issue with chickens pecking at and destroying eggs. I only have 5 hens and get few enough eggs as it is. To date I have added crushed oyster shell to their run, added fake eggs to where they nest, and bought a rollaway nesting box (which they won't use). I tried blocking access to their usual laying spot and they just laid elsewhere and still pecked the eggs. They have access to outside space, a large run with entertainment, and get layers pellets.

Is there anything else I can try. I am popping out several times across a morning to try and beat them to it but failing miserably. If anyone has successfully broken this habit I would love to know more!

Grit? https://bloomingtonfarmandfeed.com/blogs/news/grit-101-why-your-chickens-need-it-and-how-to-offer-it?srsltid=AfmBOoqCjCvAJr5X0WhkJbhONP--4JinjcVCRsw0dKvzFJ277rGkuzah

Once they've learned it's food its hard to break.

Remove the eggs and replace with fake ones, don't just leave the fake ones in the nest box all the time, put them in in the morning and collect them once laying finished.

Feed something more interesting in the morning around the time they're laying, let them fill up on that.

Thanks both. They already have grit as well as shell but I appreciate the tip. I will try interesting food first thing and fake egg removal too. Thanks!!

I agree with @Esmeraldathe3rd , it's the only thing that worked for us.

Immediate egg removal, fake eggs for part of the day, and it took about three weeks.

Thanks @OttersOnAPlane. I love them but what a palaver!

Allowing them a while to roam around the whole garden or at least a different area helps. We trained ours to follow a pot of treats so when we let them out we could easily put them back in their enclosure.

They have outdoor space in a fenced in run that’s a good size and love treats. There’s a few things I can tweak and try here.

It depends whether you're under bird flu restrictions or not. We are, so our current girls have never learned to free range and come when called (unlike all the others over the past 24 years) because they've never been fully free from restrictions.