disappering chicken eggs

[snowstar5]

I have a lot of chickens and realized that one of my free range chickens eggs are missing. first we couldn't find any eggs for a along time. we found the eggs in my horses stall. but when I went down to my barn I found one egg in his stall I put I put it next to there feeder and went back to get it and it was gone. I latter saw my chicken with her wing a little out but she ran away from me before I could see what was wrong. what should I do?

 

[eenie114]

First question: If your hens are free-range, are you SURE that her eggs are missing? Or are they just blending in with all the others? Now, if she is, say, your only Auracauna in a flock of Rhode Islands Reds, then it would be safe to say they were missing.

Do you have dogs with access to the barn? If you do, maybe your dog ate the egg.

If there were any shells lying around, you may have an egg-eating chicken.

To encourage your chickens to lay eggs in their nesting boxes, try sticking a (marked! So you know which ones will have gone bad!) decoy egg in there and leaving it for a while. Or a pingpong ball will work in a pinch.


As far as your chicken's wing, if she's acting normally now, I wouldn't worry too much about it. Where was she when she was putting her wing out? Hens will put their wings out a) to guard their eggs, and b) to show submission to a rooster. She might be treating you like you're a rooster and be preparing to mate.

 

[melina90]

When our silkie got broody she stole the other chickens eggs to lay on them. I didnt realize until she had gotten six eggs hidden away under herself, I thought she was just brooding on nothing (because she was when I checked the first time). So no wonder we didnt get any eggs for a few days, haha.

 

[snowstar5]

all my other chickens have white eggs because they are different breeds they are mixed several ways. she is the only hen laying brown eggs I have found one egg but cant find the others. she lays in my horses stall. I don't have any dogs around them and there is no shells around her nest. when I saw her with her wing out she was heading towards the woods running.

 

[snowstar5]

I only have 4 chickens that are free range. the other chickens aren't because they will go to my neighbors house with their chickens and its a pain in the butt to get them back to my barn. I do have 5 dogs but only one comes to the barn with me. I did have two dogs that went with me but my girl dog (Mara) had her puppies. so my male dog comes with me but he doesn't eat the eggs last time he tried to eat an egg he ran home to get some water.

so if any one reads this please tell me what u think it is.