Is something stealing my eggs?

[farmergalmaine]

My chickens are 26 weeks old and I haven't gotten any eggs from them yet so I did a test. I took 3 store bought eggs and wrote store on each, then I put 1 egg ineach of the 3 nest boxes and checked everyday for any extra eggs. The yesturday when I checked for eggs one of the store eggs was gone. I climbed into the coop and looked under the nest boxes to see if maybe it got knocked out and there was no egg. It dissapeared! They didn't eat it cuz there was no raw egg or crushed shells. No nothing! What. Would be taking my eggs?

 

[goldfinches]

Could you have a snake?

 

[Coop de Grille]

I have seen with my own eyes my girls peck at an egg, break it open and eat not just every last bit of the inside but the shell as well. You might have a chicken that is eating the eggs.

 

[farmergalmaine]

well, I was thinking snakes but its been a couple days now and the other 2 eggs haven't dissapeared and I haven't scene any other eggs... just the 2 store bought eggs that I labeled... It was just wierd that the 1 egg dissapeared. I don't think my hens are laying yet but it still irks me that that 1 friggan egg dissapeared! grr...

 

[farmergalmaine]

Just found crushed eggs in my pen! I checked in the nest boxes to see if any were left and I found giant mouse poops in the nest boxes. The poops were the size of my rabbits poops... some type of rodent is stealing them... any ideas on how to take care of the problem???

 

[Ridgerunner]

There are different things it could be. You can do a search online for animal droppings to maybe confirm what you are seeing. It could be a possum, skunk, or even a raccoon, but I'd bet on a rat. If you have one rat, you have several.

If I can, I really like to know what I am going after, but sometimes that is not possible. I don't like poisons because of the risk to other things but if you are set up where you can do that safely, you can try rat poison. I also don't like snap type traps but if you can set tha tup where your dogs, cat, or chickens can't get to it, that is a possiblility. I use those for mice.

Yoou can also get a live trap, Havahart or some such. Your hardware or feed store should have them. Get one the right size for ratas, maybe 6" to 8" wide and high and maybe 16" to 20" long. I really don't like the 2-door type. They are more expensive and I think that second door just gives them another escape route when it springs. Peanut butter can be a great bait. I just put some in a paper napkin, wad it up, and throw it in the back of the trap.

You don't have to but I built something like this to go over the trap so the only way in is through the front door.

 

[farmergalmaine]

Interesting thank you. I don't like using chemicals either.

 

[farmergalmaine]

What about weasels or fishers? My chickens ducks and rabbits are only about 100ft off a freshwater beach and we have a cove that fishers weasels beavers pretty much everything u could imagine less than a block away (my neighbors).

 

[Ridgerunner]

Weasels or fishers would probably be eating the chickens, not the eggs. I try to not say never because all predators don't read from the same book and don't always follow what theyt are supposed to do, but I doubt it is weasels or fishers.