Do squirrels eat eggs?

[cook_kaka_ook]

I know that some hens do peck at eggs and eat them too. But do squirrels do as well? I haven't caught any of my hens or the squirrels in the act . It will remain a mystery to me until I do discover the culprit. Are there any ideas or suggestions how to catch the guilty creature?

 

[fordmommy]

I have never heard of squirrels eating eggs.

 

[Dixiedoodle]

I don't know about hen eggs but squirrels DO eat bird eggs. My parents had two bird houses that they loved to watch the nesting birds, babies and then them fly away. One side was fixed so you could open it and see the babies thru a plex-glass wall.. My dad caught a squirrel stuffing his cheeks w/ bird eggs, then run up the power pole and eat them... He said he had seen the squirrels 'clearing' out the nests by throwing everything out of the birdhouses when there baby birds in them.. He always said they are "just rats w/ fuzzy tails and rats eat everything so will the squirrels.."

My chickens get VERY, VERY upset when the squirrels are around or in the run BUT I haven't seen any sign of them stealing eggs..

 

[ThePamperedPullet]

We have a squirrel or two that get into our Leghorn pen and steal the eggs. There are 8 pens all together but they only go into that one. We find whole eggs in the walkway outside the pen in different spots. They take probably two a week.

 

[breezy]

I have seen those nasty furry tailed rats steal and eat both wild baby birds and and eggs. I have also seen them eat the meat and bones of carcasses .They are opportunistic like any other rodent

 

[babyblue]

they are rats with fuzzy tails and more athleticsm. of course they will eat eggs they will eat anything they can get a hold of. I worked in hershey as a landscaper before my kids were born, the darn squirrls would get pissy and chew on the plastic trash cans themselfs because the cans were empty.

 

[A.T. Hagan]

It hasn't happened very often with me, but I have seen squirrels steal eggs before. Those pestiferous tree rats will eat anything sometimes. I've had them pick green lemons off my tree then bury them in the potting media. Like they were going to eat them!

.....Alan.

 

[cook_kaka_ook]

Wow! I have to figure out how to keep these pesky intruders away from the coop then. My hens free range though, so I leave the coop open so that they can always go back and lay their eggs. Any suggestions?

 

[Pattypets]

To answer the question about Squirrels eating chicken eggs... YES apparently they do!! Caught one today in my coop just now when I went to collect any eggs. He was running around like crazy trying to get out because I was in front of the door, he was the only one in the coop. We'd been blaming the loss of eggs to a big black snake we found in the coop last week, that we let go free, but my husband accidentally ran him over with the John Deere, and still eggs were missing. I've been suspecting the squirrels but had no proof til today! I stepped aside to let him scramble out then found the 1/2 eaten egg!! Now what do we do??? I'm such an animal lover, I can't kill them. If we get a cat, how will we get it to stay around the coop to do its job. I have 6 dogs that I don't think would like a cat in the family.... And will a cat hurt the chickens, or baby chicks?? Any suggestions anyone?

 

[7L Farm]

I call them tree rats. If I catch them in my coop I'll fire up the pit & have them for dinner.