Took me 3 months to figure out why my hens stopped laying in the coop

I kept finding eggs scattered all over the run, thought it was just a few troublemakers hiding them. Turns out a raccoon had been scaring them off their nesting boxes at night, and it took me 8 weeks of tearing my hair out before I found a muddy paw print near the latch. Has anyone else had a predator mess with their flock's laying routine without actually taking any birds?

3 comments

3 Comments

gonzalez.alice4mo ago

My neighbor's got 50 birds and she swears by having a couple of guinea fowl mixed in with the flock. They're basically living alarm systems, they'll scream at anything that moves at night. Took her about two weeks to train them to roost near the coop. I know some folks think they're noisy and annoying but honestly for the price of a few extra eggs a week you get free predator patrol. Ngl I thought it was crazy until I tried it with my own setup.

emma_murray494mo ago

A buddy of mine had the same issue, turned out a possum was the culprit.

the_jade2mo ago

You know what nobody talks about is that possums actually eat ticks too. Like a single possum can eat thousands of ticks in a season. So yeah they might get into your coop but if you properly secure your birds at night and leave a little gap or something you could have a free tick control service running around your property. I had one living under my shed for like two years and my chicken losses dropped to zero once I figured out his routine. He'd come out at midnight, clean up any fallen eggs, eat ticks, and leave my hens alone. Just gotta make sure your coop door is actually locked down tight before dark.