egg eater....

[LogCabinChicks]

So, all along we've been getting 10-12 eggs per day from 21 hens. A few of them are 2 years old and moulting. The hens are from two separate flocks, one flock is 10 young laying, the other is 21 2 year old laying. We had a few scuffles and I think thats part of the reason the two hens that are moulting are going through a very hard moult. Well, yesteray, I came home from work, visited them in the run, then went in the coop to collect the eggs. There was 2.

I though oh, my...more stressed chickens than I thought! Then i noticed one egg had a quite a bit of dried yolk when I was washing them.

So, 21 hens, someone is eating the eggs. But I work from 6 am to 4 pm and my husband is a corrections officer (530-330) -- so how do we figure out who is eating them?? He happens to be off today and I asked him to check on the chickens every couple hours, he went out there just now and there was 6 brown and 4 white. So--production is normal. How in the world do I figure out who is eating the eggs?

 

[iwiw60]

Short of putting a webcam in there so you can find out, I don't suspect one of your hens...yet. I think you have a predator getting in and eating the eggs. Weasels, minks, snakes.....just thinking.

 

[LogCabinChicks]

Today we're back up to 8...maybe they just had an off day....