Egg thief in Iowa!

[angie3881]

My egg count has been down to nothing for about a week. I blamed it on the weather... hooked up a light for more "daylight". They are not molting and everything is healthy and happy. I have been getting one or two eggs when I return every day from work.
Mysteriously, my daughter and I have been in the coop most of the morning winterizing the coop and have ALREADY gotten 6 eggs. We leave the door open all day and the chickens free range. I haven't seen a rat around for about three years. There is a feral cat that runs around and had even been caught sleeping in the chicken shed. (Full belly nap, maybe?) I have not seen a single snake anywhere. Coons wouldn't be out during the day nor would the skunk I see on occasion and smell from time to time.
It's a stumper, but it is really starting to aggravate me!! We LOVE our eggs. I have to be careful what I put out to catch or kill a culprit because we have a tom cat, dogs, donkey and chickens of course.
Oh, what to do??????

 

[angie3881]

Whatever is taking them leaves no trail or broken eggs, either...

 

[southerndesert]

Egg Eater? Perhaps you being present kept her from doing it when you got your six eggs.... Hope not, but one of the first things I check for when egg count suddenly drops for no apparent reason and you mentioned you had eliminated some of the other usual suspects....

 

[mrpekinduck]

I dont know what kind of relationship you have with your neighbor but they might have taken your eggs.

 

[N&MSchroeder]

Quote:
x2 I think there would be some kind of evidence if it was a predator or egg eater.

 

[dainerra]

snake. no shells, no trace, just missing eggs.

 

[angie3881]

No neighbors close by... I am thinking that my presence there all day has definitely deterred the predator. If it is a snake, he has got to be one big, fat snake by now! What can I do to keep a snake away? (Besides move...)

 

[mrpekinduck]

Plastic poultry netting will tangle them up and they will die or you can get liquid snake detterent.

 

[ChickensAreSweet]

Videotape your egglaying area?

 

[angie3881]

I am going to leave them cooped until almost dusk tomorrow and see if they are being turds. This is going to hurt me more than it does them. Feral cat in the cornfield with a baby. Still do not think it is her. There is cat food all over the place and scraps... she is NOT going hungry.