Hen/s eating eggs?

[audrey02026]

I was hoping somome could give me ideas on how to tell who is eating my eggs. I have noticed on several occaions that in one of my nextboxes there is yellow stains on the shavings from an egg being eaten. I usually get between 7-9 eggs a day and I have still been getting about 6-7 a day so they are not getting them all. I do collect as often as I can but I work a 40hr week job and can't be there all the time. I collect in morning before I go to work, on my lunch (i work very close to home) and when I return from work. I would like to figure out who it is that's eating them so that I can correct the issue....any suggestions?

 

[Birdlife99]

Where we live we have noticed a rapid drop in eggs we have been getting too. Every afternoon when I get home and go outside there will be an egg shell on the ground. My neighbor has told me on several occasions that she has seen a big black crow flying with an egg in it's mouth. We have seen this too, and believe this is the answer to our problem. I don't know if this is the same with you, or another type of bird has been getting your eggs. Also a egg hungry hen might be eating her own and others eggs. To stop crows and other birds, we have nailed an old sheet cut into strips along the chickens entrance to their run. The crow has not been getting as many eggs from the run, but still from the ' yard ' nests. As for the girls eating their eggs, they can tell if something is wrong with their eggs, and have a natural instinct to destroy it. They might think just because it might not fertile it is bad. I can't think of anything to stop this though.
Good luck and I hope this has helped