What Just Happened?

[SkyWarrior]

I have a pen with three breeding pairs of geese, several ducks and a guard llama.

This year, with two broody geese, I decided to allow the geese to sit on some eggs and hope for some goslings. Two of the geese were quick to take up residence in the dog house/brooder hut and stole eggs from each other as time permitted.

Today, both geese were out of the nest and there was NOTHING. No eggs, straw, anything. I chalked it up to maybe the eggs weren't good. Then, I found both geese back in the house tonight as if sitting on eggs.

We've had a sudden cold snap which included snow that caused the ducks to stop laying. We're supposed to have a warm-up. Sid the llama is extremely protective of the flock, so much so that I've only lost birds (knock wood) to really nasty cold and a clumsy llama foot. I doubt seriously anything would've gotten the eggs without my geese knowing about it.

So, what happened? Did they eat the eggs? Something else? I'm just puzzled, not upset.

 

[Enchanted Sunrise Farms]

Could rats have gotten the eggs?

 

[SkyWarrior]

Could rats have gotten the eggs?

I thought of that, but

I would think it unlikely with two geese sitting on them in the same house. The weather has been weird enough that I'm not finding duck eggs, even after looking several times during the day. My chickens are still laying okay, but my older girls in one small pen have stopped (normally afternoon layers) and even the Barnevelders in a separate pen have taken a couple days off. They're in the barn. The main group of chickens are having no problems laying.

 

[SkyWarrior]

Now I know.

I have a raven coming in and snatching eggs. Guess I've got to rethink the whole goose run.

 

[The goose girl]

I once saw a magpie spearing a chicken egg on its lower bill and flying off with it. A goose egg would probably be too heavy for a magpie - but I didn't think of a raven. Thanks for the update!

 

[CelticOaksFarm]

We had a crow snatching duck eggs, he would call just before grabbing and running.

Hung aviary netting up, no more egg snatching.

 

[roboboy]

A raven you say. Interesting, my first thought that with two geese sharing the same next or two nests very close together, they would keep trying to steal the others eggs and break them themselves. I've never had good experiences with 2 birds on one nest.

 

[Enchanted Sunrise Farms]

Glad you found out what it was. So was he taking them when the geese got off the nest?