Where'd the eggs go?

[DivaHick]

We have a broody Muscovy Duck and friends who were nice enough to donate nearly a dozen eggs to the cause of hatching. They are supposed to be hatching May 12th. Today we happened to catch her when she got up to stretch her legs and there were only two eggs!!! They don't seem to be under the straw, there's no shell peices or gooey straw to indicate they are eating them, and we don't *think* we have a rodent problem- I'm pretty vigilant about that. Any idea what could or probably happened and what we should do about it?

Thanks for your help!!!
Megan

 

[~Kuromametchi~]

hrm this is a tough one sometimes my hens eat the eggs when she feels they are in danger of being killed or sometimes the roo wants attention so he eats the eggs idk just a thought

 

[taraann81]

My muscovy is VERY good at hiding her eggs under the straw. If you don't find them there I would suspect some type of pest problem. No shells or anything though seems strange. Let us know if you find them

 

[DivaHick]

Well their previous owner thinks the male might have eaten them? Like to get the female to stop being broody. Since she's the only female we have, he's a bit *ahem* lonely, shall we say? Two of our neighbors' ducks came into our yard yesterday while he was free ranging and well- let's just say even I had cause to blush over the drake's antics.

We're finishing up the new bigger coop tonight and we'll move the lot of them over there, and leave her on her eggs in the small one. That will hopefully solve the problem but....

 

[taraann81]

That could be it I guess, but they don't eat the shells. You would still find them.

 

[rnoyster]

You may have a chicken snake in the area. They will get into the nest and swallow the eggs whole, then leave the area. Their muscles crush the egg shells and they digest the contents. They then will regurgitate the crushed shells. Just to be safe, I would put some white golf balls in the nests. The snake will swallow them, but cannot crush them like an egg. Then they die and leave your eggs alone. All of my nests have a golf ball in them just for that reason.