Egg tiefs, or plastic lures....

[Chickengene]

Someone keeps tiefing my golf balls, out of the nesting boxes.
Has anyone tried those leftover plastic Easter eggs to coax hens to lay in the box?

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Someone keeps tiefing my golf balls, out of the nesting boxes.
Has anyone tried those leftover plastic Easter eggs to coax hens to lay in the box?

What is teifing?

 

[Chickengene]

What is teifing?

Sorry. Bad habit. It seems the older I get the more I use terminologies my kids used as toddlers. "Thiefing", or stealing.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

So something is stealing the golf balls out of your nesting boxes? You don't find them buried in the bedding underneath or inside the coop?

As for putting something in the nesting boxes to encourage laying...a lot of people do use golf balls. I use ceramic eggs, but I still have a few hens that are determine to crawl under the boxes to lay their eggs and I have one that deposits her egg in the back corner of the coop. One of those "grabbers" work great for retrieving eggs from hard to reach places.

 

[aart]

Has anyone tried those leftover plastic Easter eggs to coax hens to lay in the box?

It could work, fill them with sand for weight.

Who do you think is stealing the golf balls...predator, human, birds kicking them out of nest?

 

[Chickengene]

It could work, fill them with sand for weight.

Who do you think is stealing the golf balls...predator, human, birds kicking them out of nest?

Well of vcours I have been accusing my brother in law. Just because that's what you do when you're close.
But he steadfastly denies it.lol
Of course someone also tiefed my weedeater. So could be kids from around the area.
I do a complete "chip change" once a week, in a three step process, so no, they are not in the coop.
I do however have a couple dozen plas'kit eggs leftover from Easter games.
Gonna try a couple. I understand chickens don't like change, so I am hoping it doesn't screw up their laying in the nests.

 

[Ginmary]

Time for a game cam! Perhaps look around for some dead snakes? They die when they eat golf balls.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Well of vcours I have been accusing my brother in law. Just because that's what you do when you're close.
But he steadfastly denies it.lol
Of course someone also tiefed my weedeater. So could be kids from around the area.
I do a complete "chip change" once a week, in a three step process, so no, they are not in the coop.
I do however have a couple dozen plas'kit eggs leftover from Easter games.
Gonna try a couple. I understand chickens don't like change, so I am hoping it doesn't screw up their laying in the nests.

Put a padlock on the coop door and/or nesting box lid - depends on how your coop is setup, that should take care of it.
For the most part I leave all mine open, but when I'm going to be gone for most of the day, I padlock coop and run doors.

Try the plastic Easter eggs, I don't see what it would hurt.