I am going to stew them ALL!

[jeremy]

Their nest boxes are attatched to the wall of the coop and are accesible from the outside. There's a total of 8. (4 stacked on top of 4.) The ones that are laying and not eating their eggs are laying in the boxes. It would be kind of hard to alter the design of them now...

I'm finding eggshells strewn around the nest boxes though, and some on the ground in the surrounding area. I'm thinking it may be a predator again, it looks the same as when we had the oppossums raiding the coop as last year. I'm also kind of convinced that it's the oppossums because when I have seen a hen try to eat an egg she usually devours the whole thing, shell and all. When I've gone out to collect there are left over shells, like whatever is eating them sucks out the inside and then moves on.

I don't leave my girls open at night, every evening at dusk I go out and they're usually already in their coop, so I shut and lock the door (I live in an urban area) and then close their windows. I'm not sure how whatever it is that's taking eggs is getting in. The only thing I can think of is that whatever it is is coming in through the top where there is a space for ventalation, (about 5") it's only partially covered with chicken wire. I'm going to set up the live trap tonight and see if I have any luck catching something. I'm crossing my fingers that it actually is a predator and not my girls.

 

[Dogfish]

Easy to make a rollout box with that design. Just extend their boxes out and add a small incline.

 

[crysmom]

I don't suppose there are any dogs with access? My Lab will eat any eggs he can get his teeth on, when the girls are out freeranging and they happen to lay in the yard he's chowing down and if the nest boxes are accessible because the door is left open its lunch for him too. Thankfully he leaves my chickens alone and keeps the coons and coyotes away so I'll sacrifice a few eggs

 

[WoodlandWoman]

Cover any coop openings with 1/2" hardware cloth, if you can. I would definitely secure the coop first and then see where you stand in all this.

 

[marliah]

I've got 21 hens and I average 6-8 eggs a day. Thankfully I have a bit of variety and I know where most of the eggs come from. 12 of our egg eating, non laying, old hens are headed to the stew pot. I ordered 6 new pullets and the old ones are going to be supper. Sometimes thats all you can do. We set a trap of sorts after finding all kinds of eaten eggs. Our hens free range so my husband and I calmly went out to the front yard, sat down and set down an egg on the ground, then sat there for about 30 minutes, in that time many of the chickens came to investigate, some looked and walked away, some gave one peck and then left, but there were a few who ran up to that egg an began pecking it viciously, trying to break it, all the ones that did that got marked with a sharpie on the leg and they are going to slaughter today.

Stinks, but I have an inkling we will end up with the same average of eggs from the 9 hens we keep cause the ones that lay seem to do all the work and the others try to eat them all.

I feel you pain. But I say eat the egg eaters and start up fresh.

- Tara

 

[drumstick diva]

Marliah, that was a agreat idea to find the culprit(s).