[ju]

Has anyone heard of seagulls stealing eggs from INSIDE the hen house?? I've been noticing lately that my egg numbers were way down (i have 13 hens who've been laying more or less 1 each a day until recently). A neighbour a few fields over noticed the same problem and she said she caught a seagull coming out of her henhouse with an egg in its beak!!! What can i do?? Help

[harry]

shoot the bugger, or use a larson trap £60... shooting is cheaper, think its legal or rig the hen house door as a trap, then you have to get hold of it and release it miles away

[shetlandpaul]

you can up here apart from the rare ones. they will take some young hens as well. we have seen great blackback gulls take live rabbits.

[MM]

This happened to an old neighbour of mine. Their chickens were housed in an old stable. The hoody crows cottoned on to the free food too. Things improved once they got a trio of geese whom they housed next to the stable entrance.
What was strange though was, we lived right opposite and were never affected, but our chickens were/are housed in arks and sheds.....
Sorry, not much help.

[shetlandpaul]

the hoodies took all but two goslings. if they make there minds up to get them they will. they are highly cunning.

[doganjo]

It's magpies that are stealing mine.

[Rosemary]

Magpies are our problem too.

[shetlandpaul]

well imagine three times the size and meaner.

[doganjo]

Yes, I know what a seagull looks like - I belong to Aberdeen!  I believe it is home to the biggest flock in the country!  Do I like them - no!  Would I be happy if I never heard another seagull - yes!  Do I feel the same about magpies - YES!!!!!

[shetlandpaul]

Yes, I know what a seagull looks like - I belong to Aberdeen!  I believe it is home to the biggest flock in the country!  Do I like them - no!  Would I be happy if I never heard another seagull - yes!  Do I feel the same about magpies - YES!!!!!

sorry iwas talking about the hooded crow. now a really nasty one is the bronxie

[doganjo]

Hate them too! They look SOOO sinister with them hoods on!  And why do you always see them in graveyards too?

[harry]

get an air rifle.

[shetlandpaul]

you would need to be very close with a full powered one. a shot gun or .22 would be better. we had a seagull take a bird today we first thought it was a pekin but turned out to be something starling sized. at the same time i had to kill one of our legbar chicks. its eye had been pecked out. i prefer to think it was a gull or huddie than one of the hens. it was annoying they were ment for blue eggs i had 8 hatch and 5 were boys. so im down to 2 hens.

people have been commenting that all the births seem to be mainly male. 5/6 lambs. well into 75% chickens. the locals all seem to be getting the same ratio odd.

[shetlandpaul]

oh well i spoke to soon they have just taken one of our cream legbar pullets. the lads found the remains in the field. i don't like doing it but any gull that lands within ten feet of the run is dead meat from now on.

[waterbuffalofarmer]

Magpies are stealing my hens eggs too, however they have not been able to eat them  because either {A} I have been collecting the eggs early enough, or {B} They cannot open the eggs to eat them because the shells are too tough. I hate the stupid creatures.