Pest problem

[LoveDatChickenLife]

If it was a chicken, they peck really hard at food so would the hole at least have around cracks around it?

 

[Hyroler]

I am an exterminator and have been for almost 15 years

I haven't had any for several months now due to my chickens being eaten by a possum,

i guess your not the best exterminator.lol

 

[The Moonshiner]

I know rats like mustard on there hotdogs.Rats are possibilty except they usually wont come out during daytime.if you are collecting eggs everyday and eggs arent in nesting area during night I dont think it would be rats.

If you have them bad enough they sure do come out in the day time.
They figure out your feeding schedule and show up as soon as you feed and turn your back.
Rats are an underrated predator. They will come out any time of the day or night and will eat or eat on the chickens feed, eggs, chicks, juveniles and adults.
They're one of the hardest things to coop proof for. They'll go through, over or under to get in.
Not to mention they can populate so fast that it becomes a war to get ahead of them.

 

[Hyroler]

You are absolutely right about rats.They will reproduce and overun a area where there is constant food supply.When it gets to that point they will feed 24hrs a day.Im not saying its not rats but if that is the case you would see signs of rats.There would be rat crap and you would see signs of entry or where they are nesting.
Its just my opinion that its more likely a hen is guilty of poking holes in eggs.I could be wrong but until I saw some signs of rat infestation I would concentrate on finding guilty hen.

 

[Folly's place]

I had a rat visitation last year, and they cracked and ate eggs, carried some off to eat in private, and beheaded three bantams. I found rat poo, and their tunnels, and met one face to face one morning. We cleaned everything, closed tunnels, and used poison.
Your egg issue looks more like a chicken problem to me.
Diet okay? Oyster shell available? Crowding?
Hope you find the 'pecker'!
Mary

 

[LoveDatChickenLife]

I had a rat visitation last year, and they cracked and ate eggs, carried some off to eat in private, and beheaded three bantams. I found rat poo, and their tunnels, and met one face to face one morning. We cleaned everything, closed tunnels, and used poison.
Your egg issue looks more like a chicken problem to me.
Diet okay? Oyster shell available? Crowding?
Hope you find the 'pecker'!
Mary

What do you mean by crowding?
Like the chickens don’t have enough space go?

I think maybe they would peck it out of pure boredom. Chickens to tend to peck each other when they’ve been bored for a long time. I wouldn’t be surprised if they would start pecking the eggs-not of hunger, of boredom.

But what I would be surprised about is the hole doesn’t crack around it.

 

[Kmooneyhan3910]

one of chickens is guilty.It might be doing it by accident.Sometimes before hen lays she will gather up surrounding eggs to sit on while she lays.Maybe she is poking holes in them when she moves them.It doesnt take much to poke hole in egg with beak especially if egg shells are thin from lack of calcium.I suggest checking eggs after each hen lays until you find culprit.I had this problem when broody hen was stealing eggs to sit on.

It could possibly be but what about the “thing” that’s eating the mustard and eggshell all?

 

[Kmooneyhan3910]

You have rats?
I've had rats do that.
They just put a little hole and suck egg through it.
And rats eat anything it seems so wouldn't put it past them to eat mustard.

Rats are what I’m thinking is doing this but I haven’t ever seen a mouse or rat in the coop nor any feces

 

[Kmooneyhan3910]

I had a rat visitation last year, and they cracked and ate eggs, carried some off to eat in private, and beheaded three bantams. I found rat poo, and their tunnels, and met one face to face one morning. We cleaned everything, closed tunnels, and used poison.
Your egg issue looks more like a chicken problem to me.
Diet okay? Oyster shell available? Crowding?
Hope you find the 'pecker'!
Mary

They are getting layer crumbles with calcium in it, there eggs are really tough to bust through to me bc you first have to break the shell then you have to push through the inside layer of calcium but I have changed my food here in the last month I have added cracked corn and mixed it with layer pellets and also mixed it with there grit and some scratch grain mix as well

 

[Kmooneyhan3910]

I had a rat visitation last year, and they cracked and ate eggs, carried some off to eat in private, and beheaded three bantams. I found rat poo, and their tunnels, and met one face to face one morning. We cleaned everything, closed tunnels, and used poison.
Your egg issue looks more like a chicken problem to me.
Diet okay? Oyster shell available? Crowding?
Hope you find the 'pecker'!
Mary

And also no crowding I have 4 hens 1 rooster and 10 nesting boxes