What's taking my ceramic eggs?

[mlterry]

I put ceramic eggs in my nesting box in order to stop a chicken from eating eggs. I seemed to work but when I went out one morning, one of the ceramic eggs was missing. About a week later the other was missing. Well whatever chicken was breaking the eggs stopped so I just let it go. Then..... a chicken starting breaking the eggs again so I got another pair of ceramic eggs last week and put them in the nesting box. Two days ago one of the new ceramic eggs was gone. Yesterday the remaining ceramic egg was in the box but outside the coop was a broken egg. This morning the remaining ceramic egg was gone. I took an extendable rake and tried to see if somehow a chicken might be getting the egg out of the nest somehow and pushing it out the door and maybe it went under to coop, but there was nothing there. What could possibly be moving these eggs without hurting any of the chickens? I'm baffled.

 

[jher77]

Might be a snake.

 

[PNWChickenMama]

A rat stole all of mine! Caught him on camera (and then in a trap....).

 

[nuthatched]

Ravens and crows will.

 

[cmom]

Put a camera up otherwise it's just pure guesses. I have had the same thing with golf balls I put in the nest boxes. I never did figure out how they got from one nest box to another. I would find more than one golf ball in a nest box. I did put a camera up but when the camera was up I saw no unusual activity and it hasn't happened since. Tis a mystery. Good luck...

 

[RosemaryDuck]

Might be a snake.

And somewhere there's a bloated dead snake full of ceramic eggs.

 

[mlterry]

Thanks for all the answers. I had thought snakes would be hibernating at this time since the night temps have been in the 20's. Will rats kill chickens?

 

[jher77]

Do you happen to keep heat in your coop?

 

[cmom]

Thanks for all the answers. I had thought snakes would be hibernating at this time since the night temps have been in the 20's. Will rats kill chickens?

I had a rat infested coop. When I renovated it, dozens of rats of all sizes came pouring out. They had built nests in the walls and ceiling. When I tore them out the rats poured out. They never bothered the chickens. I had put a camera in that coop and saw the rats mostly at night on the camera. I didn't realize how many rats were in there until I started renovating. As far as a snake you have had a few fake eggs go missing so I would think one fake egg would do a snake in but I never had a problem with them. I did have a rat snake curled around a milk crate I was using as a nest box in one of the coops. I did have a rat once in a nest box too but don't think they messed with the eggs. I didn't find any broken eggs. Good luck...

 

[Percheron chick]

Magpies would steal my golf balls.