Egg Thief

[Cheerio27]

My new neighbors just came to meet us and said something is stealing our eggs and leaving them in their yard. This explains why I've only been getting 3-5 eggs out of 6 chickens recently. I found where it burrowed under the run and blocked it, but since the chickens free range in the back yard won't it just come back in through the front door during the day? Would burying hardware cloth around the coop help? I know we have voles, squirrels, snakes and chipmunks around. Birds too, but those wouldn't have burrowed underneath. Should I try a rodent trap? I've only had chickens for a year and I still feel new at this. Thanks

 

[nuthatched]

Crows, ravens, Jay's, squirrels could all be doing it.

 

[LaFleche]

Use roll-away nest boxes and secure them with hardware cloth.

 

[mcdze]

really bad around here are possums, ive taken out 20 or so just this year and if enough of them zero in on your coop, theyll take birds to .. anyway, most problems 'at the coop' are at night .. occasionally you could get a rat or black snake snatching eggs in the day but theyll eat them on the spot, and some bird species will peck or break eggs .. alot of daytime problems with eggs can be solved by just prompt collecting, shoot anything you catch in the coop ... for night security just make sure theres no holes in your wire, staple it well, blocks around the bottom tight up to the wire generally deters things from trying to focus on the bottom .. if you have serious regular attacks on the coop at night youll have to get creative on adressing that, determined critters usually will get in sooner or later .. key is feeding them nightly and distracting them to where you want them so you can set them up for an efficient disposal

 

[NapaChicknGal]

i think I'll try the shower curtain idea. I'm just worried it may make coop overly warm since big doors face west - i know a cpl years ago the fake egg and xtra fabric on auto door worked - bummer.

 

[NapaChicknGal]

Use roll-away nest boxes and secure them with hardware cloth.

where do yu put the hardware cloth?

 

[LaFleche]

where do yu put the hardware cloth?

On the outside where the eggs will collect.

 

[NapaChicknGal]

really bad around here are possums, ive taken out 20 or so just this year and if enough of them zero in on your coop, theyll take birds to .. anyway, most problems 'at the coop' are at night .. occasionally you could get a rat or black snake snatching eggs in the day but theyll eat them on the spot, and some bird species will peck or break eggs .. alot of daytime problems with eggs can be solved by just prompt collecting, shoot anything you catch in the coop ... for night security just make sure theres no holes in your wire, staple it well, blocks around the bottom tight up to the wire generally deters things from trying to focus on the bottom .. if you have serious regular attacks on the coop at night youll have to get creative on adressing that, determined critters usually will get in sooner or later .. key is feeding them nightly and distracting them to where you want them so you can set them up for an efficient disposal

my problem is daytime egg thievery - however, one whole week and no eggs and no debris from broken ones. Now what shd I do? I've ordered a laying box that collects eggs and stays covered. Never did load my pellet gun - run & coop is a bit away from my house, so it's not like I can sit on deck and scope it out. I've been searching most areas in back of house where hens may leave their eggs, but found nothing, no debris, nada.