Would I know if a mongoose was stealing eggs from my nest boxes?

[mangobingo]

I haven't any eggs for the last two days, after a week orf getting 1-2 per day (we've only had these four chickens for 3 weeks and two of them only just started laying). I know they could have started hiding them outside as they free range all day, or it could just be some weird random chicken thing, but I also wonder if a mongoose is stealing the eggs. I've seen a mongoose near the coop and I know it could get inside easily enough - I leave the door open so the girls can get in to lay during the day. Would a mongoose leave a mess behind, though, if it were stealing the eggs? Bits of egg and shell and stuff? -Thanks!

 

[zazouse]

Yea they eat eggs and chickens also.

Snakes are great at stealing eggs and the mongoose is said to pray on snakes mabe that is what it was looking for when you saw it.


A game cam is great for spying on critters.

 

[roosters4sale]

Hi. It must have been a weasel if it looked like mongoose. Mongooses are native to africa , europe, and india.

 

[Chickmate]

Quote:
Yeah, when I read 'mongoose' I looked to see where you are from. Thought you might be posting from India. Mongoose are not native to the US, it must have been a weasel or perhaps a mink. zazouse is right, the mongoose does prey on snakes and is kept as pets in many homes in India as a deterent for cobras, it is one of the few animals that can kill one.

 

[mangobingo]

Should have said - I'm in Hawaii, and we certainly do have mongoose here. They were introduced to kill the rats, but mostly they just killed off the native birds. Horrible things. No snakes here though, fortunately.

 

[mangobingo]

Hmmm, chicken cam - now there's a thought...

 

[Chickmate]

Hawaii, if I lived there I'd want everyone to know and put it on my profile! I heard there were no snakes on the islands, so it's true? Hard to believe. Well at least a mongoose is something we don't have to worry about up north here! I know they like eggs, but will they also kill chickens?

 

[mangobingo]

Apparently so, chickmate - that's what everyone says, and I've never seen a snake in my 5 years here.

Btw I did an eggs-periment (sorry) this weekend and deliberately didn't pick up the eggs for a few hours after they were laid. None of them disappeared, so that's a bit of evidence against the mongoose hypothesis.