The question we had to ask ourselves yesterday, was why were two eggs left behind? And we feared it might be that they were bad, and there was a slight wiff, though that might not have been both.. Although not sure that rats are that discerning, as the eggs were due to hatch today, we left her sitting on them.
Working next to the hen run in the vegetable patch, we heard a sudden ‘pop’, and moved over in the hope of it being a rat being trapped.. But the trap is still set.
Going in to investigate, the smell hit us first…. one egg had exploded, under the poor hen..
We took the other egg and felt it.. and it did feel a little be sloshy.. which it really shouldn’t if it’s about to be a chick, so himself took it to the firepit and gingerly picked at it. I heard the second ‘pop’ from the next field over… so that one was addled too. ewwww the smell. Luckily it missed himself.
So all round a disaster of a brood this time. Probably, whatever stole the eggs from under the broody has also been having some eggs from the hen house, although there are no signs, other than less eggs. So time to get serious about reducing the rat population…
I am glad this was not our first attempt at raising chicks.. least we know it can be done!
I wage continual war against rats Autumn, Winter and Spring, but during the summer I nomally get time off as they move into the graneries around here.
I trap, I poison, I even hit them with a big stick if I get the chance (and feel no guilt at all). We’re never infested – it’s just that a steady trickle (three or four per month) seem to arrive to replace those I’ve killed. God knows how bad it would get if I ever let up…
yeh i hate rats. Funny how soft we can be about some things.. but will happily kill rats…
Bad luck with the eggs.
If you have any rats about the place you really should put a chicken wire floor in your broody coop/run. We were advised to do this by a friend who had had a rat tunnel into her henrun and kill the newly hatched chicks (and the unfortunate broody hen died of a heart attack).
yeh we will.. it was sitting inside the henrun, and tight to the ground, and we moved it regularly (cos of huge poos broody hens do!!) it seems impossible that a rat could squeeze in there, let alone take whole eggs out. but they are gone, … you live and learn.