Rats RETURNING stolen eggs???

[Sheriloo3]

I have recently discovered a bit of a rat problem in my coop/run and am working on getting it taken care of. I have a few things in the works, but if I have more issues, I'll be back for suggestions.

What I'm here for is to inquire about a real head-scratcher that happened today.

I have a broody silkie, sitting on about 8-9 eggs. Shes sitting on them in what we refer to as the "the duck house" as it is the little house i built for the ducks we used to have but is now more of a little coop, since we no longer have the ducks.

Anyway, I've noticed a couple rats running around behind and underneath the duck house and I've been concerned about Sassy and her clutch. We were out of town overnight last night and when we got home this morning, I immediately went out to check on everyone.

I opened up the duck house, Sassy had gotten up to feast on some scratch, and all the eggs were gone!! At first, I thought she may have just moved her nest, so I started looking around but found nothing. I actually found 2 of her eggs outside the duck house though, which I thought was strange.

A moment later, Sassy was finished grabbing a quick bite and ran back in the duck house, freaking out, frantically searching for her clutch, so I knew she didn't move it, they were stolen! I quickly grabbed the two eggs i found and gave them back to her and she promptly tucked them under her and sat back down, though she was obviously annoyed that she only had two and they were not where they were supposed to be.

At first, I thought the rats took them, piled them up near the back of the house, and were taking them into their tunnels, one by one. We just caught them before they took all of them.

A few hours later, we went back outside to start filling holes and securing the coop, and found 5-6 more eggs on the side of the house, in the same place I found the other 2. They were the rest of Sassy's eggs! They brought them back! The only one still missing was one of the fake eggs I have that the girls always claim as a part of their clutches. I gave the rest back to her, although I'm sure being out from under mama for so many hours, they are probably no good anymore (ill check them in a couple days to be sure).

Another couple hours later, I went back out to pick up their feed and whatnot and you'll never guess what I found.... the fake egg was brought back! Seriously??? The rats stole all the eggs and brought them all back!

Has anyone ever seen such a thing??? Why would they bring them back? All in one piece, just as they took them, they brought them all back!

I can't wrap my head around this. Why would they go through all the trouble of taking them, just to being them all back??

 

[ariri30]

Wow. I had a broody that was losing an egg a day and ended up with just two that they killed right after they hatched and poor mama hen ended up with no chicks. We were really sad.

 

[Weeg]

This is amazing! Maybe you have pick rats, who were like "Hey Joey, these things got tiny chickens in them!" Joey- "Wait what! How McFuzzy?" McFuzzy- "Well, they are warm, they keep peeping, and they are all light!" Joey- "I was wondering why it was so easy to move them. Hmm, well I think these things are gonna be to slimy, bloody, and gross to eat, maybe..." Mcfuzzy- "Are you implying we should take them back??" Joey- "Well I hate slimy stuff, I once ate a droned, dead fish, and it was so water logged and nasty, and...." Mcfuzzy- "stop right there I get it, gross, I don't think fish can droned though. Anyway, I get the point, we will take them back, and then collect there eggs when they start laying again." Joey- "That fish was just so gross! I can't imagine a teensy chick in an egg..." Mcfuzzy- "Joey, stop, you are creeping, and grossing me out! Help me haul these eggs back!" Joey- "Bleh, never eat droned fish Mcfuzzy, don't do it!" Mcfuzzy- "Help me!" Joey- "What about this pink one? Is it stuffed with a tiny chick? Hmm" Mcfuzzy- "we'll leave that one, and eat it later, its probably a normal one. Lets go!"

 

[cmom]

If you have a game camera, put it up. You may be able to solve the mystery. Good luck...

 

[Sheriloo3]

Low and behold, the eggs are gone again! I didn't want to put them back in the same spot again but Sassy wouldn't have anything to do with moving so I just gave them to her where she was. Went out again this evening while she was out getting her quick snack and all the eggs have vanished yet again!

Good news is I caught a big one in a snap trap, so hopefully I'm on track to get this mess cleaned up. We will be moving soon, so my hope is to get it dealt with the best I can before we go so the new owners won't have to. I'm sure the majority of them will hit the bricks when we go since there won't be anymore "food" for them anyway but I'd hate to leave them behind for any neighbors to have to struggle with.

Kill those suckers!!!

 

[tripletfeb]

Thats crazy!

 

[Weeg]

Low and behold, the eggs are gone again! I didn't want to put them back in the same spot again but Sassy wouldn't have anything to do with moving so I just gave them to her where she was. Went out again this evening while she was out getting her quick snack and all the eggs have vanished yet again!

Good news is I caught a big one in a snap trap, so hopefully I'm on track to get this mess cleaned up. We will be moving soon, so my hope is to get it dealt with the best I can before we go so the new owners won't have to. I'm sure the majority of them will hit the bricks when we go since there won't be anymore "food" for them anyway but I'd hate to leave them behind for any neighbors to have to struggle with.

Kill those suckers!!!

If you find the eggs again, do you have am incubator that you can incubate them in? Maybe Joey and Mcfuzzy came back after you caught there friend Jeffrey in the trap, to take your eggs as punishment. This is a FANTASTIC article on getting rid of rats! I used it, and It totally worked!https://backyardchickenproject.com/how-to-get-rid-of-rats-in-the-chicken-coop-the-definitive-guide/ It is really good!

 

[Sheriloo3]

If you find the eggs again, do you have am incubator that you can incubate them in? Maybe Joey and Mcfuzzy came back after you caught there friend Jeffrey in the trap, to take your eggs as punishment. This is a FANTASTIC article on getting rid of rats! I used it, and It totally worked!https://backyardchickenproject.com/how-to-get-rid-of-rats-in-the-chicken-coop-the-definitive-guide/ It is really good!

The eggs were super cold (I live in VT) and had been out from under Sassy for so long, there's no way they would have still been viable. We collected and disposed of them, unfortunately. I do have a couple incubators, and hatch frequently, but decided this was a lost cause. Bummed....

 

[DuckYouMan]

I had a thing where one of my hens would take eggs other hens were sitting on so she could sit on them. I believe it happened by her attending the eggs while the other was eating and sometimes the eggs get lodged between wings and in feathers, long enough to be carried to another nesting box. Whenever the other hen would figure it out she'd either go get them in the same manner or sit on them where the other hen put them.

 

[Sheriloo3]

I had a thing where one of my hens would take eggs other hens were sitting on so she could sit on them. I believe it happened by her attending the eggs while the other was eating and sometimes the eggs get lodged between wings and in feathers, long enough to be carried to another nesting box. Whenever the other hen would figure it out she'd either go get them in the same manner or sit on them where the other hen put them.

That's funny!! I know that isn't what happened in our case but that still makes me giggle. My husband think they were storing them somewhere till they rotted (since rats are nasty and like rotten things) and one of them must have bumped them and they rolled out or they were trying to move them from one place to the next and we caught them in the act. Little buggers!!