Egg production is way off the last several Months and I'm starting to suspect I may have someone feasting on eggs. If one of the hens was dining would I find any remnant evidence? One was in the nest today but when I went to collect her egg there was none. I have 5 just year old hens who have been averaging 1 1/2 eggs a day altogether. What would I look for?
Usually if it's one of your chickens, you'll see some sort of signs such as egg on their beaks and shell remnants in the nest. Are you sure you don't have rats getting into coop during the day or hens hiding eggs somewhere?
We have caught our 3 hens several times feasting on an egg. They really fight over it - it must be so yummy. When they are done, nothing is left! Well, some of the liquid might be absorbed by the dirt in the chicken run but you really can't see that they just had an egg. However, everytime that this happened, the egg was (probably accidentally) laid outside in the run rather than in the nesting box. The eggs in the nesting box are always whole. I have no idea why sometimes a hen lays an egg in the run rather than in the nesting box and why they eat it then. If there weren't many eggs in more recent times, it could be that the hens are adjusting to shorter days which sometimes (so I have read) reduces their production.
Egg eating leaves very few remnants behind. The only thing I ever saw was some yellow shavings and that's it. No shells, no liquid, and definitely no guilty parties with egg on their faces (Please! That would be way too easy.)
If my girls ever eat an egg they do not eat the shell. It usually seems that my hens eat the egg only if it is damaged after laying or if a soft egg was laid (Thank Goodness) Sandie
HMMMM, I check for eggs in the afternoon and sometimes sooner, especially collecting the eggs if I hear a good egg song out there. It's been hotter than heck all summer and I have a good amount of feathers all over the roost and run... though the ladies are all feathered well. They, EE's, laid like gangbusters until June and then started slacking off. I have 2 Br's who are past 24 weeks and not laying yet, getting red in the face but no squatting yet. I know there is a resident mouse but I'd be surprised if there was a rat. A snake would have to slither through the run before getting in the nest area. They get a good stink eye from me most every day now.
