Crows eating eggs

Bev in Nevada

In the Brooder
8 Years
Apr 17, 2011
60
1
31
I have a pre built MPC henhouse, its worked great for the last three years. Until now, it seems that a crow has learned what the chicken egg laying song means and is going in the hen house and getting my eggs. I have 8 hens in this area, four lay in the morning and two late morning and two that lay between 4-6pm. So I can't really "lock" them in or out, and they all lay IN the nest boxes inside. Ive put lots and lots of shavings in the nest boxes and made a little "lip" type thing so they can't kick it out hoping to hide the eggs from the crow......thats not working.........any ideas other than me standing out there with my 9mm.
I have two elderly parents that I have to go take care of each day along with having a son in school that I drive to and from twice a day due to the whacky school hours, so I really am not "free" all day to sit and wait for the *******.
 
You could have "roll away" features built into your nest boxes in which each egg that is laid rolls gently to the back of the nest box and into a pocket, there to await your collection. Most folks who have these don't use nest box bedding but usually have a piece of outdoor carpeting or some such on the floor of their nests.

Crows are among the world's smartest birds so this roll away had best be a good one that cannot be accessed after the egg rolls into a trough or pocket, except by you from the outside of the coop.

Here's a pic of some rollaway nest boxes someone built themselves and looks like the eggs roll to the front and under the board~ I think your crow would still get them there:



Here's one of our own member's designs that may give you some ideas...

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/287684/new-rollout-nest-design-picture-heavy-edited-1-21

And another cute idea:

http://www.southernagrarian.com/building-a-roll-away-nest-box/
 

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