Predator of eggs

[Athiena14]

So I've been having eggs disappear every so often. I had an egg eater but wonder if that incident was due to one being broken or something.

Three days ago I had 4 eggs and a fake egg just disappear. I put the web cam up in the unused part of the egg box since all 6 use 1 spot >.>

This was during the day. I did catch a rat snake in there a month or so ago but he hadnt gotten any eggs and had been catching a few young possums. (Relocated into the woods away from houses.

Hasnt touched any chicks that are nearby the nesting boxes. Any ideas?

Doors are open all day so they go in and out

 

[Ridgerunner]

I assume no evidence was left? In Missouri the typical critters that take eggs and don't leave evidence are canines, snakes, and humans. Mot other critters usually leave some evidence. How often does this happen?

If it were a fox or coyote, I think you'd be missing chickens instead of eggs. A dog might eat eggs and leave the chickens alone. Not sure a dog would eat a fake egg though. Does a dog have access.

To me it sounds like a snake. I've had a problem with a few of those. They eat some eggs then go away for a few days to digest them before they come back. I also had a couple eat my fake eggs, golf balls. They could not get back out of the hole then used to enter so I was able to recover the golf balls. I had a five feet long rat snake eat four eggs at a time out from under a broody hen, then come back for more a few days later. Yours might be longer since it also ate a fake egg.

I'll let you think about whether it could be a human.

 

[BaaKaaawk]

Sounds like a black rat snake to me. I find them every few months in my large coop it seems... they usually have the audacity to just stay in there too- mostly wrapped around the roosts.

 

[Athiena14]

I assume no evidence was left? In Missouri the typical critters that take eggs and don't leave evidence are canines, snakes, and humans. Mot other critters usually leave some evidence. How often does this happen?

If it were a fox or coyote, I think you'd be missing chickens instead of eggs. A dog might eat eggs and leave the chickens alone. Not sure a dog would eat a fake egg though. Does a dog have access.

To me it sounds like a snake. I've had a problem with a few of those. They eat some eggs then go away for a few days to digest them before they come back. I also had a couple eat my fake eggs, golf balls. They could not get back out of the hole then used to enter so I was able to recover the golf balls. I had a five feet long rat snake eat four eggs at a time out from under a broody hen, then come back for more a few days later. Yours might be longer since it also ate a fake egg.

I'll let you think about whether it could be a human.

I would think if human it would have grabbed the other two fake eggs. The one that was grabbed had bite Mark's all over it from a different predator feeding

 

[cmom]

Hopefully your camera solved the mystery.

 

[Athiena14]

Hopefully your camera solved the mystery.

Actually no... so far nothing has come back