What could be eating my eggs and chick?

[jakmallex]

One of my 3 week old chicks went missing a few days ago. So did the entire nest of eggs that my broody was sitting on.

Today I found broken eggshells on a shelf outside of the chicken house and eggshells all down a piece of drainpipe that was sitting on the shelf. The eggshells are neatly broken almost in half. There are no signs of digging or ripping the fencing or netting around the chicken house, but there are small openings by the door where the wood is warped.

 

[Chicken03]

Sounds like a snake to me. Could be many other things though.

 

[Wolf-Kim]

Rats will take eggs and chicks. I had rats eat a couple of 4 week old coturnix quail, didn't leave hardly a trace of them.

I think snakes take the whole egg, then regurgitate the crushed shell. Crows will take eggs and chicks, but I don't see a crow taking eggs from under a broody.

Although, I think coons and possums would both take eggs and chicks. I think if you had a coon, he probably would have taken your broody too! I've heard that skunk will take eggs and sometimes chicks, but I think it's mainly just eggs. Don't see a skunk eating the eggs on the shelf though, I think that would tell us it's something that likes to or can climb.

So I'm going to guess it was rats or possums.

-Kim

 

[Sugar Sand Farm]

sounds like a snake to me. Snakes crush the eggs leaving the shells. They could also eat chicks. I lost a nest of eggs under a broody also and that was what it was.JMHO