[Azzdodd]

My hens and ducks are laying there hearts out but I havnt had an egg for weeks cause I let them out early cause of work about 6.30 then don't go back down till 6.30 of an evening the birds are going in the nest boxes an eating the eggs how can I stop them!!!

[fifixx]

Ducks should have laid first thing - can you collect them then?  Maybe put them to bed a bit earlier to change their laying clock!

[Azzdodd]

They don't like to lay in there own box they like to lay with the chickens :/ the one day I found them all ducks and hen eggs were mixed lol I don't finish work till 6 so that's my problem I thought it was rats so poisoned them and then I saw the birds eating them....I thought off a few things like a scarecrow? Or next a roof on the pen

[gapcap]

Its maddening isnt it,   We tried cd's hung up etc but no good. In our case it was magpies eating them, we had thought it was crows so shot one and hung it above the chicken house door but it was still happening.we eventually discovered it was magpies when we saw one just coming out of the chicken house, a magpie was duly shot and suspended from the door and we've had none eaten since (apart from those that are laid out and about).

[Azzdodd]

I do have a air rifle so I think that's the only option! Basically I want to hang them from near there pen?

[gapcap]

You need to hang them when the magpies would enter if you can, ours is a roller door so we just hung it from the handle, so the dead 'un, is sort of suspended there when we open up the door,if you get my drift! there's also a pop hole door but they(the magpies) dont seem to use that one...yet . The chooks dont seem to mind the corpse dangling around  . good luck    you stop the little********.

[bigchicken]

A Larsen trap baited with eggs will do the trick. No magpies or crows taking my eggs but Jackdaw in the breeding pens stealing chicken feed feedback get in but can't get out.

[doganjo]

My ducks never laid before 10 am but they were in an old dog kennel with a huge dog cage attached so I could happily leave them in there till after that and all day if need be on the odd occasion.  They almost always laid inside.  My hens seem to lay throughout the day, and again always in the nesting box,  but I have netted their run, so nothing gets in. 

Good luck whatever you decide.

[hughesy]

A few dead magpies/crows/jackdaws hanging about the place will keep them away. Either shoot them or trap and kill them.

[Beewyched]

A few dead magpies/crows/jackdaws hanging about the place will keep them away. Either shoot them or trap and kill them.

Are we still allowed to do that?  I'm sure someone told me recently it wasn't legal anymore     
I'm just thinking of the smell in this    too 

[hughesy]

You can trap or kill corvids so long as they are damaging your livestock or crops. The only ones protected are ravens. I don't think the rules have ever mentioned what you're supposed to do with the remains after you've killed them.

[Beewyched]

You can trap or kill corvids so long as they are damaging your livestock or crops. The only ones protected are ravens. I don't think the rules have ever mentioned what you're supposed to do with the remains after you've killed them.

Sorry hughsey - I wasn't very clear there    - I meant the hanging-up of the bodies - I wish I remembered who'd told me ...
 
Last year we lost track of how many bl**dy crows we must've shot - our free-rangers used to lay in the barns rather than their house & the crows must have been getting about half of our eggs every day!

[Bodger]

Keep your ducks in until 10.00am and ninety odd percent will have laid before you let them out. It definately works, I do it everyday.
Seagulls are the bain of my life when it comes to egg stealing.

[Azzdodd]

I start work at 7.30 so after ten is no good to me lol! And I'm not leaving them cooped up app the time I looked at automatic houses but for 4 ducks and 4 hens can't really warrent that amount

[hughesy]

I set my larsen trap yesterday but so far no catches. There don't seem to be any flying rats about either though so maybe just seeing the trap is keeping them away.