Can You Help Identify?- Steals Eggs, Ignores Chickens

[CapricornFarm]

Chicken snake, I found one in the nest box one day! I thought the girls were not laying, but the snake was getting fat. I wonder if I have another, production has been off for those girls. I relocated that snake but another is a possibility.

 

[Kaitie09]

Just had that happen to us last night. We had 5 marked eggs under a broody. Went out there this morning, and there are about 12 eggs in the nesting boxes everywhere else, but all the marked ones are missing. she is the only one that sleeps in the nesting boxes too. We are putting our game cam in the coop tonight to figure out what is going on.

 

[woodmort]

Rats will steal eggs but don't discount the chickens eating them. Given enough time, they can clean up the evidence fairly well.

 

[Bear Foot Farm]

Can snakes climb up a ramp with a 45 degree incline?

There are very few things a snake can't climb​

 

[UrbanFarmerGirl]

Just had that happen to us last night. We had 5 marked eggs under a broody. Went out there this morning, and there are about 12 eggs in the nesting boxes everywhere else, but all the marked ones are missing. she is the only one that sleeps in the nesting boxes too. We are putting our game cam in the coop tonight to figure out what is going on.

I have had a broody chicken move and hide her eggs before. I don't know how she did it, but it definitely happened.

RE: The chickens eating them, it seems weird to me that they would eat the eggs sometimes- despite having free access to the whole yard- but then yesterday when I had them locked up all day inside the coop to prevent something else from getting in they didn't eat any of them. I suppose it's possible, I was just thinking that if it was them they would have done it when they were confined inside of the coop.​

 

[wsdareme]

Something that I haven't seen anybody address -- with the exception of a couple of breeds, chickens don't lay eggs every day. You said you have a "Buff", so I'm assuming Buff Orpington, and Barred Rocks. Those are average layers and will generally only lay 3-4 eggs per week. I don't think anything is stealing your eggs -- you just aren't getting an egg every day from each hen.

 

[chicknmania]

I'd say you might have an egg eating chicken in the flock. He/ she will eat the whole thing, and not leave any trace. Crows or jays would be logical too, and lots of times skunks will take the eggs but not bother the chooks.

 

[UrbanFarmerGirl]

Something that I haven't seen anybody address -- with the exception of a couple of breeds, chickens don't lay eggs every day. You said you have a "Buff", so I'm assuming Buff Orpington, and Barred Rocks. Those are average layers and will generally only lay 3-4 eggs per week. I don't thing anything is stealing your eggs -- you just aren't getting an egg every day from each hen.

It is a buff orpington, but I know which eggs are hers- they are a different color. Right now those are the ones I generally get if I go out there in the morning before work. The other two are barred rocks. They were chicks last spring, and started laying last fall. In March and April I was probably getting 6 eggs/week from each chicken. I know they don't lay every day, but for this time of year I would think I should be getting more than 1-4 eggs from M-F, from 3 healthy young birds. Am I wrong? I suppose it could be a coincidence that they lay 3 eggs on weekends and when I lock them in the coop- but it seemed a little fishy to me.​

 

[wsdareme]

My hens have been laying GREAT all winter (I have supplemental light) and are actually starting to slack off right now. Some days I'll only get 9 eggs, others 15 eggs. And that's from 21 laying hens (well, 20 as I have one that's broody). I have 5 EE hens and there are days that I don't get a single green egg.

 

[bibkel]

WE had this problem too....and no broken shells....then my daughters caught a snake that my cats found and were checking out. his loud HISS is what we heard.

Now, we are finding broken eggs, and i think that is actually a racoon or opossum or skunk, they are abundant in our area and we have caught in the past several of each....an opossum family found a way into a dresser in our garage!top drawer!!!

The only eggs that have been safe are in the coop...we scooped up several and placed them under a broody chicken and they hatched! all but one baby duck is in the house, and the chicken turns out to be such a good mommy! we pull out baby, then put her down and Midnight (a speckled sussex, don't ask) shoves her back under very gently.

I have tried to get my ducks to go in at night and I finally quit. They had me running back and forth every night. Forget it! the chickens are all smarter than them. (except the broody one in the tall grass that we swapped infertile chicken eggs for fertile duck eggs...)