A strange one - hope you can help

[char259]

Hi everyone - I'm new here - and I'm confused

I've read the sticky about identifying preditors but I'm confused.

I'm just getting started - I have 4 hens and a rooster (do you want me to tell you their names? ). Everything has been hunky dory for the first three weeks. (I only had two hens until yesterday). Up until now I've been getting two eggs a day like clockwork. But on Wednesday there was only one egg. And I thought "Well that's strange" but the bells didn't really go off until Thursday. Again only one egg and I noticed a dark spot on the ledge in front of the nest which looked like an egg has been broken and eaten. There was no shell.

Would this be a snake? Don't they swallow the egg whole? What would break an egg, lap it up (I'm guessing here) and take the shell?

signed:

nervous new mommy - Please help.

~ seeing if this works:

I know it looks bloody but it's not. The board is and old one that has red paint on it. And I put some water on it to clean it up before I realized I should take a picture.

 

[char259]

I had posted this on the "should I kill a rat snake" thread but thought i should start a new thread of my own.

Thanks!

 

[cackydoodledoo]

First of all

Snakes will usually just swallow them whole just like they do prey. Rats will usually carry them off to their nest but it's possible they could have eaten it right there. Also your chickens might be the ones eating them too. They have been known to do it. Honestly I think the only way you will know is to catch the offender redhanded!!

 

[ADozenGirlz]

A CHICKEN is the likely culprit. Sometimes when they are new layers, chickens will lay eggs from the roost and it will usually be eaten by a chicken. There's not too much you can do about this, short of sleeping in the coop with them to remove the egg as soon as it drops. Hopefully they'll get back to business as usual and it won't become an egg-eating habit.

 

[ADozenGirlz]

Something to watch for is egg yolk on the culprit. It's a dead giveaway!

 

[char259]

Seriously? They eat the entire shell too?!!!

 

[luvmesomechicks]

Most likely a chicken....I am in the process of finding out who my egg eater is and have it down to two of them. Usually they will eat the shell (hide the evidence

) and from what I hear is a hard habit to break..

 

[char259]

hmmmm could it be a vitamin/calcium deficiency?

 

[cackydoodledoo]

Quote:
Yes!!! If I find one that is cracked or damaged when collecting I will toss it out into the coop and it's hilarious to watch. It's like throwing a juicy steak to a bunch of starving dogs!! Within seconds you would never known that I had thrown an egg out there. Oyster shell is basically the same thing as crushed up egg shells. In fact some people reuse their used shells for this.

 

[char259]

Wow. Just wow!

I guess I should move this from the predators section.

Thank you so much!