Should you sneak the eggs away?

[savingdogs]

We are new to chickens.....still on our first month of collecting eggs.
My husband was surprised today when I told him a chicken made a noise at me when it saw me taking a previously laid egg from the nest. The noise-maker has not yet begun to lay was why I thought it was interesting, but my husband was shocked.

He says he has been "sneaking" away the eggs when the chickens are not looking so they don't think we are stealing their eggs. We do have a fake egg in each nest (we have six nests to our 18 pullets). They seem to think these fake eggs are Very Important Objects so I've never felt like taking their real eggs out in front of them was a bad thing. My husband was appalled that I did not use stealth. Many times I'm not sure if the chicken in the coop is the one who just laid an egg or not. Sometimes they are just in the coop because of our rainy weather.

I tried to find any posts on this on here, please direct me to an old thread if this has been discussed, but I didn't know how to search for this topic.

 

[easttxchick]

No stealth here. I just walk in and take the eggs. I've had no problem, but I don't have a broody hen to contend with YET.

 

[txchickie]

No, I feel guilty, too

I've had a broody try to de-skin my arm while taking eggs, but even with the rest of them I throw them some corn first before I take eggs so they don't see!

 

[PortageGirl]

Ok, this is probably a mistake, and I don't want anyone mad at me, but when I first read this I thought, "Awww, you guys are so cute!"

No sneaking for me either. Unless they're broody eggs don't mean much to them IMO.

 

[jenjscott]

I just get the eggs, and if there is a hen on the nest, I just reach up under her and get the eggs out, some of them complain sometimes, but only broodies really raise a big fuss, and then I know I have a broody to either set or bust up.

 

[Ridgerunner]

I take the eggs and leave the fake eggs in the nest, whether a chicken is in the coop or not. I have taken them right in front of the one that laid it right after she got of the nest. They continue laying in the same nest on following days. If a hen is on the nest, I wait for her to leave unless she is broody since I want her to finish laying.

I don't want to disturb one that is in the process of laying. I have flushed them off the nest working in the coop. I imagine she had not settled in well. They always came back and laid in the nest after I left, but I don't want them to associate that nest with anything scary.

 

[lauralou]

My hens insist that I approve their eggs. They will not shut up unless I come and take the egg and tell them what good girls they are.

 

[Booswalia]

I just take the eggs. I've even reached in under my girls to grab them. I usually then give them a big thank you and some sunflower seeds so they don't dwell on what I just did.