Egg set 8/28 GONE. Egg theif?

[neVar]

SO my bad I never let the crew out of the coop this morning (late for work woops!) I came home to find Charlottes egg GONE. But wait Emily is sitting on an egg she's just been laying eggs again after being broody (still a fair bit broody) this past week. I grab it i candle it. CRAP nope NOT charlottes egg.

I have combed through the entire coop. yes the egg is just freshly laid nothing in that egg.

SO where is my egg? i call my mom (who grew up on a chicken farm and has been a huge help this summer while we get going). and all we can come up with is someone is stealing my eggs.

We've had very low production the last 3-4 weeks. now Charlotte is my pro star silkie she lays 6 eggs a week. now i figured she's been sitting on an egg since 8/28 so that must be why we're low. Lucinda our houdan laid an egg (her first egg0 just before that. but nothing since. (being she's my only white egg layer it's sorta obvious).

Now right before charlotte sat on her egg one of my other girls was sitting on 3 eggs. Down in the run (not the coop she never lays up there) one of hers plus i gave her two of charlottes. A couple days later all of a sudden we've got ONE egg and two have just completely disapeared.

I"m just devestated

 

[Edwards' East of Eden]

Or you have egg eater(s)?

 

[SkyWarrior]

Rats?

 

[neVar]

Edwards' East of Eden :

Or you have egg eater(s)?

I had thought that when Victoria's two eggs disapeared. but yet one was still there (and ok she was also sitting on two tomatos so i wouldn't put it past her LOL)

But an egg this old? i seriously expected to be getting a chick this week

I don't think rats- although we have rats here- there are no holes into the coop where they were all locked up-

Plus ummmm we don't even have gophers in this yard- i've got a danish farm dog who is one hell of a good rodent up to large chicken size killer *Sigh*

I had thought predator- but i can't not find how they would have gotten in- it would require going through the run- into the coop and i can't find any holes nothing. But then no injuries either ALL the chickens were in that coop all day​

 

[Edwards' East of Eden]

I don't have tons of chicken experience, but they're vicious feathered velociraptors. I hate to say it - but if you have egg eaters, I don't think them finding a mostly developed chick in there would slow them down much.

Do you really think you have someone in your neighborhood who would risk getting caught for just eggs?

She was setting tomatoes? Srsly?

Srsly? What was she expecting, ketchup?

 

[neVar]

seriously she was on tomatos she had there and the egg was beside her *sigh* she's not being allowed to sit on eggs again. not only were they tomatos they were TINEY wittle like pea size tomatoes that had fallen off my grape tomato plant

ugh- if they ate it i'm very disapointed. because charlotte was being SUCH a good broody mom so far

So good.

incubator next time i guess-

my kids were so excited for this wittle chic and it's getting awefully late in the year to incubate another egg

 

[SkyWarrior]

Edwards' East of Eden :

She was setting tomatoes? Srsly?

Srsly? What was she expecting, ketchup?

 

[JD4570]

Could it be a snake?

 

[mstricer]

Quote:
ditto or a snake

 

[neVar]

WELL,

WE're pretty sure we had an egg theif of the human kind. Padlock on the coop and voila we're now back to getting 2-3 eggs a day from our ummm zip. Even though i got 2 girls (my best layers) still acting all broody they are popping out em eggs.

As to it being a snake or a rat- not saying it couldn't be- but being that the coop was completely shut up (door shut) the only way in would have been through the vent holes. Which are completely screened over (like window screen)


However my friend did just discover a 8' long snake in her coop the other night (IN the states not up here thank god) thankfully about all we get round here for snakes are Garter snakes.