Is this common with a broody hatch???

[dandydoodle]

Okay this is out second broody hatch. With our last hatch an egg went missing and I never found it. This is our second hatch I gave her 13 and now there is 12. Does this happen a lot. Does the mommy get rid of them if she knows one is bad. Just curious its seems so weird they can't just vanish into thin air . I felt all around in the bedding and I couldn't find it anywhere I thought maybe she had lost it. Any thoughts on this?

Thanks,
Michelle

 

[Tala]

Happened to mine, I think it was rats stealing them. I put out bait after that and it got eaten. Never saw them in the flesh though, dead or alive.
Snakes can also steal a broody's eggs. Amazing how mean broodies can be that they let stuff sneak under them and steal eggs

 

[dandydoodle]

I know we have mice that have gotten into the roof of the chicken coop. Do you think that mice would do it? How the heck do they take away something that big? We have no idea how to get them out of the ceiling. We are scared of putting out any bait for fear of hurting the chickens.

Thanks,
MIchelle

 

[Tala]

Quote:
I got a TomCat bait station from TSC, it's a plastic box with holes for entry, then the rat has to go around a "corner" inside the box to get to the bait. Chickens can't stick their heads in AND around the corner so they can't get to it. I never saw any dead rats and we have never had any problems with "secondary poisoning" either, but the bait got eaten inside the box so it had to have been rats or mice that got it.