Can a critter take eggs without breaking them?

[debid]

I once found a few bits of shell and a yellow smear in my dog's bed (which is in my room, upstairs). Dog took a whole egg off the counter, carried it upstairs, and ate it where he wouldn't be seen. Never underestimate the critters, wild or domestic.

 

[donrae]

Crows.

I have a pair working my run. I have a few young layers that lay out in the run and I can't always get the eggs right away. A pair of crows are working together and taking off with the eggs--they carry the entire egg. We had netting over the run, but it became too heavy with the snowfall, too big a span on the run. Now it's spring, we'll re-cover the run.

 

[Carol Anne]

I think my problem is crows. We have had a group hanging out for a while. The last few days we haven't gotten any eggs from 8 hens. We have been getting 5 or 6 for quite a while! My chickens free range through out the day and it is possible that they are laying elsewhere, but my husband SAW a crow in the coop just yesterday, and I found an egg rolled out of the coop today.
Anyone have a solution? There are some folks who kind of count on me giving the a dozen every now and then!

 

[subhanalah]

You could feed the crows somewhere else to keep them from your eggs. They will chase off hawks near your property, and if they are well fed, they won't have to steal your eggs.

 

[Carol Anne]

What would you suggest? They have already found their easy feed.

 

[Beekissed]

Someone else had this situation and so began feeding the crows on the other side of their property with whole corn and such so they wouldn't be targeting the eggs in the coop. She said it worked fine.

Others have built or bought roll away nest boxes.

I have a dog outside all the time and he lives around the coop, so that's my solution for all predators and it works 99,9% of the time.

 

[donrae]

You can check your local regs about shooting them. My honey says it's legal to shoot them here, you just need a tag. We just live in an area where our backstop isn't safe. If he could sit out there with a pellet gun it might work.

My darn dog doesn't seem to notice them. Plus, they work in pairs and one keeps a lookout from a hidden place while the other one robs the run. You kinda have to admire how smart they are.

We're just planning on covering the run with netting again. I'd actually like to split the run and coop in half, that would cut down the span and reduce the weight load that's given us problems.

 

[Henny]

I have personally seen 2 egg stealers--one my dog who stealthfully goes into the coop, sneaks one out and then gently breaks the shell and eats the inside. The 2nd was a black snake. I went into the coop and low and behold there it was caught in action!

 

[drumstick diva]

Snakes

oh my yes they can sneak eggs without breaking the shell when you see a snake with big lumps you can bet you'll find either eggs inside or some poor chicks.

 

[jandavis]

Quote: I saw a crow jumping up from eating something dead once. A hawk was perched right above the crow watching it jump up and down as he took bites off the carcass. When the hawk figured "okay, that's enough!" it just pounced down on top of the crow's head, ate the crow, then finished what was left of the carcass the crow had been eating.