I have found that pepper mixed in with the egg yolk doesn't work for ever. They soon get over it. One way is to use something called 'spectacles', don't know what they are called in America, but thats what they call them in the UK here. They are sold for phesants locally, are very small red plastic things that clip inside the nostrils and have 2 tiny shields that don't allow the hen to see right down onto the ground. You can remove them after a while then the hen is out of the habit. Sarah.

-- sarah Matthess (william@matthess.freeserve.co.uk), March 09, 2000

Answers

Sarah, they are also called spectacles here, but are generally hard to find. I believe they may be available from Omaha Pharmacuticals.

-- Green (ratdogs10@yahoo.com), March 09, 2000.

www.mcmurrayhatchery.com - look at their poly-peepers for the "spectacles"

-- Connie Christoffer (Connie@lunehaven.com), March 09, 2000.

Some of my hens were eating the egg shells. I was told to provide oyster shells for the hens and they would stop. It worked for me.

-- Sherry Cookson (oneofthem@one-eleven.net), March 13, 2000.