Will be gone overnight, will the eggs and hens be okay?

[bayareapilot]

I'll be going on a mini-vacation (gone for a day and night and then back the following evening) and was wondering if leaving the eggs in the nesting box would be okay? I'm not worried about the eggs going bad, but wondering about nighttime predators being attracted to the presence of the eggs (like skunks, for example). The run and coop are rather secure, they both sit on 12"x12" concrete pavers that surround the periphery (and underneath) of the coop and run. There is a two-wire electric fence around the coop and run. HEAVY hardware mesh (1/2").

Should the eggs (and hens) be okay, if I leave the eggs there overnight? Just wondering....

 

[woodmort]

Everything will be fine. I often leave mine for a couple of days with no problem. As long as you don't have problems with predators while you're home they shouldn't bother while away. Eggs don't go bad if they're left for a couple of weeks as long as a hen didn't start to brood them. The eggs might be a bit dirty though but otherwise fresh and eatable.

 

[elmo]

I think the chickens themselves are more likely to attract predators than the eggs. I don't think eggs have much of an odor, unlike the chickens.

Do you usually lock your chickens inside the coop at night?

 

[bayareapilot]

Quote:
I usually do secure them in the coop (they go by themselves up to the roosting bars at the same time every night - I just basically tuck them in by closing the entrance to the coop). The run is covered from all sides and rather secure and attached flush to the front of the coop (one of the ChickNCabins from Ware Mfg.).

 

[bayareapilot]

Quote:
No problems with predators going after the hens. I have four wireless cameras around and inside the coop and a recorder that records the rotating feeds. One day I thought I'd take a peek at what the cameras had captured. There was a skunk sniffing around the back of the run. On the first rotating video feed, I saw the skunk heading towards the electric fence and the next video feeds - no skunk to be seen anywhere. The raccoons avoid the run and coop with that electric fence there.