[Rollicker]

Well I declare ! We've a mystery to solve !

Let the chickens out this morning as usual, and as usual had to lift Omo, the whiter than white broody sussex off her clutch of seven eggs.

Went out for a few hours, came back to find Omo sitting there but not an egg to be seen !

No broken shell, no yolk stains, not a thing.

She's in a broody coop but can get out with the others to stretch her legs etc.

Anybody any ideas? Have never seen a rat here (we live in  Britanny) Could it be a crow or rook?

Over to you guys.

[Roxy]

I am losing eggs just lately, not hatching ones, just in the nests.  I have a feeling its magpies or crows, as they have nests in the trees, and I can hear the young squawking.  Today for example, I am at least 10 eggs down, which is a lot, but I am sure the hens are laying.  Rats too will take them, but I would guess at the birds.  They are clever, and I have watched them listen for the hens to declare they have laid and then swoop down.

[Rollicker]

Yes, we've got a pair of magpies and some crows in the wood at the bottom of the paddock.

I reckon it could well be them.

Out with the binoculars and a comfy chair!

[Rosemary]

We're losing eggs to magpies, as we did last year. Sometimes the broken eggs are left in the nestbox, empty or full but I suspect some are going, given the current yield.