Confused by possible predator

SpaceLamb

Songster
Mar 6, 2019
71
128
121
Houston, Texas
So we've never had a problem with predators but something weird is going on and I can't figure it out. We have five girls and they're all happy and healthy as far as we can tell but a few weeks ago we noticed a decrease in egg production. Two of the girls lay in the inside nest box and haven't stopped but we haven't gotten any eggs from the three that lay in the outside nest box in a while. We check multiple times throughout the day and nothing. I thought maybe the girls were eating the eggs but am not so sure because if they were I feel like they'd also be eating the ones in the coop. Then today we filled the waterer in the morning and by the afternoon it was empty. Normally it'll last about two days before we have to refill again. We don't see any signs that it's leaking but are going to pick up another one just in case. My mom is also convinced that the feed is going by faster but it's hard to tell because we've never kept super close track on how long a bag of feed lasts.

I'm just so confused. Is there anything that would come into the run during the day, eat the eggs, and not mess with the chickens? Or is it more likely that the three that lay in the outside nest box all just stopped around the same time with no obvious cause? Can anyone think of anything that could be causing this?
 
So we've never had a problem with predators but something weird is going on and I can't figure it out. We have five girls and they're all happy and healthy as far as we can tell but a few weeks ago we noticed a decrease in egg production. Two of the girls lay in the inside nest box and haven't stopped but we haven't gotten any eggs from the three that lay in the outside nest box in a while. We check multiple times throughout the day and nothing. I thought maybe the girls were eating the eggs but am not so sure because if they were I feel like they'd also be eating the ones in the coop. Then today we filled the waterer in the morning and by the afternoon it was empty. Normally it'll last about two days before we have to refill again. We don't see any signs that it's leaking but are going to pick up another one just in case. My mom is also convinced that the feed is going by faster but it's hard to tell because we've never kept super close track on how long a bag of feed lasts.

I'm just so confused. Is there anything that would come into the run during the day, eat the eggs, and not mess with the chickens? Or is it more likely that the three that lay in the outside nest box all just stopped around the same time with no obvious cause? Can anyone think of anything that could be causing this?
If it’s a predator maybe a raccoon? That could explain the eggs, food, and maybe water
 
My guess is rats. One winter many years ago, my egg production mysteriously decreased, while feed and water consumption increased. I didn’t figure it out until spring when I cleaned the coop. There were several holes in the floor, and it was just crawling with rats under the coop. One of the little monsters even poked his head up while I was cleaning!
 

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