Who is stealing my eggs?

[tuckertori]

About 3 weeks ago, my Ameracauna stopped laying one day. No slowing down...just stopped. This morning I noticed one egg in the coop from another chicken but was all dressed for work and left it there. Tonight, it is gone! So...someone seems to be stealing them. Who has experience with this? Any ideas what it might be and suggestions how to resolve it?

 

[goldies99]

snakes??...racoon???.....can something get into your coop???

 

[RHRanch]

You might have a chicken that is eating the eggs, a rat or other animal sneaking in and eating/taking the eggs, or it could always be a person. Some advice, don't leave eggs lying in the henhouse, it can make a chicken curious and lead to egg eating, and it can be a temptation for other predators.

 

[ninabeast]

This raises a question for me. I collect regularly (some would say obsessively...), and I often take an egg away from a hen who is sitting on it in a state of afterglow. They look at me like I am Cruella de Ville. Is it okay to take eggs away from hens while they're still sitting? I am hoping some of them turn out to be broody...

(Sorry if I'm hijacking the thread.)

 

[hemet dennis]

Quote:
get a camera and good luck

 

[groundpecker]

look for bums, crackheads, or kids

 

[Tracydr]

My Doberman took one right out of my basket on the way to the house when I wasn't looking today. I turned around and she was eating it, little stinker! I was mad!

 

[tuckertori]

Bums, crackheads or kids? What kind of neighborhood do you live in! Funny thought but on occassion we have had homeless people living in the woods behind our house. Hmmmmm.

 

[peterlund]

Quote:

If it might not be true!!! Winter here though.. girls slow down a lot... I mean A LOT!

 

[seminolewind]

I take my eggs out from under chickens.

I have had crows steal my eggs. I have caught them flying away with the eggs in their mouth.

If something is eating an egg in the nest, there will be some evidence, such as yolk staining.

Put some golf balls in the nests.