egg thief!!

[amy5189]

Hi everyone,

Just wanting to ask a couple of questions. We have four hens that are all point of lay and are laying quite regularly... anyhoozlebee.

We saw an egg in the coop this morning and i didn't bother getting it out cuz i wanted to wait to see if anymore would lay and get them all out together.

anyway just went into the coop at about 4pm today and the egg was gone!!! i went through the entire area with a rake to make sure i hadn't missed it if it had been covered up and its disappeared!

now my question is if anyone knows of a reptile or any other creature that would eat eggs in south east queensland. we are located in morayfield very close to sheep station creek conservation park.

i am thinking it has to be some sort of reptile, as they would be the only thing that would be able to squeeze into the coop. My guess would be maybe a monitor or other lizard? But I am not much of a lizard genius and don't know much about their diet.
Would they eat an egg whole? Shell and all?

There is no trace evidence of broken shell, or goopy yolk so i assume its been eaten entire!!

Any help or advice is good! I just wanna know what is taking my yummy eggs!!!! lol

 

[Sock Puppet]

Be wary if your neighbour asks you over for an omlette

 

[nuthn2do]

I've removed quite a few egg thieves from chook pens, they are usually disguised as lace monitors

 

[amy5189]

haha i was thinking it was our neighbour!!! he is a right *$&#$#$*( and i wouldn't put it past him. though i'm sure my kelpie would have a right go at him. she hates his guts.

but yes nuthn2do i was thinking along the lines of a lace monitor. so i'm going to have to monitor-proof my coop asap, cuz i'm sure they'd do some serious damage to my chickies if they got close enough!!

 

[Surfcop24]

I have rescued a Coastal Python from a coup before..... It had decided it wanted some Easter Eggs and went in for a feed..... I could feel bout 4 in its stomach....

 

[dixilizards]

Could be crows, they are able to be able to pick eggs up and carry them, i've seen the cheeky birds do it as well as finding broken eggs metres away from where the chooks are kept.

 

[cris]

I would put some sand or something down in the area, see whats moving around.

 

[Snake Catcher Victoria]

I have pulled tigersnakes out of chicken coops and thay had eaten chook eggs.
Any snake that eats birds would probably eat eggs as well i think.

 

[snakecharma]

i think the culpret would be a carpet python of some sort, dont see many lacies in the wild around these parts, but could also be a tiger snake we get alot of those, prehaps a RBBS could also enjoy an eggy or 4 lol

 

[candycaine]

I used to keep chooks when I lived around your area years back, keep an eye out for carpet pythons, RBB. brown snakes, king browns and also chickens and roosters eat eggs as well. you may have to make a despenser so when they lay an egg it rolls out of the coop nest and into a egg collecting tub but put carpet or something soft in the bottom and no so big a drop so they don't brake.

 

[amy5189]

GAH! A TIGER SNAKE?!?!?!?! i hope not. lol

i have seen monitors around, as my horse pooped himself when one ran up a tree! lol. but we do have browns, rbbs and coastals around so it could be any of these things.

the sand is a great idea though! i'd love to know what it is, as its possible its something exciting!

pretty sure it came back today too, cuz we didn't get any eggs again... :-(

 

[Kitah]

I had king quails that would quite often eat their eggs, and you wouldn't see any trace of it (spillage, shells etc)... its surprising how neatly they could eat them (punch a hole in the shell and eat it through the hole, then eat the shell)

 

[solar 17]

Disappearing egg !!!

I will bet its the hen and... if.... it is [shellgrit] is your answer...[in their diet]...cheers solar 17 [Baden]

 

[amy5189]

ok well i've patched up any gaps, big and small, so if anything was getting in there it won't now!

the only thing is that we were getting eggs constantly, and then when its started getting warmer they are disappearing, which is why i thought a reptile. i would hope its not my little chickens!! mean little cannibals. lol
but now thats its all blocked up, if they go missing i'll know its the chickens. and i'll definitely get some shellgrit. i am feeding them layer mash? but i don't think this one has shellgrit, one of the other ones did but not this one. SO CONFUSING!!

oh well i got two yummy eggs today so looks like i'm having eggies for dinner! YUMMO!

 

[reptilefan95]

check the rafters of the chook pen ive heard stories of carpets clinging up to the rafters of dog houses and such waiting for a feed

 

[amy5189]

NOOOOOOOOOOOO! I hope they don't move onto my chickens next... :-( Poor speckles, brownie, ginger and toey. lol yes they are my chickens names.....
i'm gonna have to have a stakeout one day and just sit watching to see what is going down at the chicken coop lol