Numerous wild animals, including snakes, rodents, raccoons, and opossums, enjoy eating chicken eggs. If they have the chance, these animals will take advantage of an easy protein source. If you own backyard chickens, you should know what could be stealing your hens’ eggs and how to stop it.
The Most Common Egg Thieves
Here are some of the most frequent egg-eating culprits:
Raccoons
Raccoons are clever nimble-handed mammals that can easily access coops. Once inside they will readily consume eggs and may even kill chickens. Raccoons are primarily nocturnal and rely heavily on their sense of smell and touch to locate food.
Opossums
While opossums don’t specifically seek out eggs, they are opportunistic eaters. If they find their way into a coop, they will eat eggs and may kill and consume chickens as well, particularly targeting the breast meat. Like raccoons, opossums are nocturnal.
Rats
As rodents, rats will eat just about anything, including eggs. Often, they get into coops through small holes and destroy nests in the process.
Snakes
Snakes are able to enter coops through cracks and holes. They swallow eggs whole, leaving only empty shells behind. Rat snakes are especially notorious for raiding nests at night.
Skunks
Skunks don’t always go after eggs, but they will eat them when they get the chance. They may break into coops at night because they can’t see well and have a strong sense of smell.
Weasels
With their long, slender bodies, weasels can easily get into coops through small openings. They will consume both eggs and chickens. Their lightning-quick speed makes them adept egg snatchers.
Blue Jays
These birds keep a close eye on the chickens, waiting for the right time to swoop down and steal eggs. Eggs are easy for these smart, resourceful animals to eat, even though they don’t like them.
Crows
Crows are incredibly intelligent, social birds. They work together to raid nests and will readily eat eggs from chickens and other birds if given the chance.
Less Common Egg Thieves
In addition to the most frequent offenders, here are some other animals known to eat eggs opportunistically:
- Foxes
- Owls
- Hawks
- Bobcats
- Coyotes
- Wolves
- Jaguars
- Eagles
- Magpies
- Cats
- Dogs
- Bears
- Iguanas
These predators may eat eggs if they find a nest, but they do not specifically target them as a food source. Properly housing and protecting chickens is usually enough to deter these less common egg thieves.
Tips for Protecting Eggs
Fortunately, there are steps you can take to safeguard your chickens’ eggs:
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Collect eggs frequently – Don’t leave them in nests long.
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Use automatic pop doors to securely lock chickens in at night.
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Seal any openings larger than 1 inch across.
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Bury hardware cloth at least 12 inches into the ground to prevent digging.
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Use locks on doors that cannot be opened by clever paws or snouts.
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Clear away vegetation or debris near the coop to eliminate hiding spots.
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Use well-fitting wire mesh over runs to keep birds and climbing mammals out.
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Consider adding a mesh roof to deter aerial attacks.
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Apply strong-smelling repellents like predator urine around the coop perimeter.
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Use flashing lights or sounds to scare nocturnal raiders.
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Install electric fencing if possible to deter all sizes of predators.
With some simple precautions, you can foil those egg thieves and keep your flock’s eggs safe! Be sure to fortify your coop against the most common offenders in your area. A secure run and coop will help ensure you get to enjoy those fresh eggs, not the sneaky wildlife.
Keep Nutrition Quality High
Eggs contain high-quality protein and fats that can be enticing to hens who are not already receiving proper nutrition. Provide a complete ration formulated to meet the needs of laying hens. Feedstuffs like scratch grains and cracked corn are not appropriate on their own. It may be tempting to mix these with a complete ration to decrease costs, but this will dilute the ration, throw off the nutrient balance, and ultimately provide less of what the hens need.
Strong eggshells, which can be improved through nutrition, will help prevent egg eating by preventing egg breakage. Give them a complete diet and let them choose between oyster shells or limestone as a calcium supplement to keep the shells strong. Do not mix extra calcium directly into the feed. Provide it in a separate pan that hens cannot climb or dustbathe in, or top-dress a complete ration when needed.
Never feed the hens used eggshells without drying and smashing them to very fine particles. If the hen can associate the shell with the egg, she will be encouraged to pick at the fresh eggs in the coop.
- Bright lights should not be used in chicken coops, especially near where the birds nest. Bright light increases nervousness and picking habits.
- Do not scare the hens out of the nesting boxes. The sudden movement could break eggs in the box, which would give the hens a taste of eggs and make them want to eat more.
Reduce Traffic in the Nesting Area
Egg breakage is a major reason why hens start eating eggs. Excessive traffic and eggs in the nesting area increase the chance of egg breakage. Some precautions include:
- For every four or five hens in your flock, give them a 12″ x 12″ nest. Never have less than 4 nesting boxes. Place the nests at least 2 feet above the ground and 4 feet away from the roosts at all times.
- Discourage floor nesting. Identify dark corners and sheltered areas underneath shelving or objects. These may be more attractive to hens than nest boxes.
- Determine where the hens prefer to nest. A popular place to nest can quickly become full of eggs that might hit each other. If a lot of hens keep picking the same nest, collect eggs more often during the day to keep them from piling up in one place.
- Every time you clean and dry the nests, add two inches of clean, dry material. Many eggs break because nesting boxes don’t have enough padding to protect them. Some small producers will cut up carpet pads and put them in the bottom of their nests to keep them from breaking. But if you don’t take them off and clean them or replace them often, they can easily get dirty with bacteria and mites.
- Remove all broody hens from the laying area. Broody hens take up more nesting space and make the nests that are still open busier. Other hens may also lay their eggs where the broody hen is, which makes it more likely that too many eggs will break. Do not scare hens out of nest boxes. They may accidentally break eggs on their way out.
Why Chickens Eat Their Eggs (and HOW to STOP Them!)
FAQ
How do I tell what is eating my chicken eggs?
Predators such as snakes, skunks, rats, weasels, and others will eat eggs and leave egg residue, which can cause your flock to develop a taste for eggs, too. If your hens are eating eggs, they will usually have dried yolk on their beaks and sides of their heads.
What is eating my chicken’s eggs at night?
If eggs are missing, one of several predators—including skunks, snakes, rats, opossums, raccoons, blue jays, and crows—may be at fault.
What are the predators of chicken eggs?
Missing or damaged eggs may be caused by skunks, snakes, rats, opossums, raccoons, coyotes, foxes, blue jays, and crows. Foxes, skunks, opossums, jays, and crows often leave shells of consumed eggs behind.
What would eat chicken eggs but not chickens?
As best as I know, the possums and snakes never hurt my chickens, they just steal eggs. I only had a Raccoon problem when I let the hens raise the chicks on their own. They would come in broad daylight to snatch the chicks away, and come back at night to grab an adult.