Please HELP Chicken and hatching eggs

[Georgiadaisy]

Please help. I'm so upset! My hen has been sitting on 5 eggs for 5 days. Now the eggs are gone. She is in a coop and NOT free range. I had the top of the nesting box wedged tightly so it couldn't be opened. All of other chickens go up at night too. I only have 2 roosters. I young Silkie that don't know what's going on and a grown Silkie rooster. There aren't any eggshells or signs of eggs at all. The hen is very upset this morning and was sitting on a golf ball. What to do? How will I figure this out. I did remove the golf ball so maybe she would quit setting. It's so hot here and I really don't want her to set for no reason.

 

[limited25]

To break her from being broody place her in a cage with a screen bottom that is elevated off the ground. Sorry about your eggs.

 

[Georgiadaisy]

Does anyone have any ideas about where the eggs went?

 

[limited25]

I am wondering if it was perhaps a snake, but don't know.

 

[Georgiadaisy]

My husband said that too but I haven't see any which means nothing I know. Next question is what do I do now? After talking to several ppl everyone seems to think its a snake. I have a chicken tractor with hardware cloth and I'm thinking the snake could have possibly gotten in where the trays slides in. Of course that will be taken care of today!!! Any other suggestions would be appreciated!!!

 

[limited25]

The black plastic netting you put over small fruit trees to save the fruit from the birds make a good "catcher' for snakes. Open the package and unfold the netting. Kinda twist it and string it out along the bottom of your coop/pen. The snakes will crawl into it but cannot get out. I once avoided looking at an area in the feed shed awhile because of the awful smell (I thought it might be one of the neighbor's feral cats), and when I finally brought myself to pull it out, I found FIVE big black snakes caught in the netting the pack rats had pulled off the shelving. All but one were dead, and the fifth one became so.

This is a quote from Betsy (post 66635 of 66753 in Okies III thread). It is the best advise I know for snakes.

 

[Georgiadaisy]

Thanks for everyone's help. Look what I caught in the netting! Without your help my little hen would have lost her eggs again! I also have the minnow trap too but haven't caught anything in it yet. Thanks again!