We have been puzzled by the intermittent nature of the eggs our chickens are laying. My wife thought the weather was upsetting the laying. I was suspecting something taking them but not sure what. To resolve the issue I set up my wildlife camera in the chicken hut.
Here are some of the images from today showing a stoat as the culprit:
This first photo shows a stoat approaching the nest box.
And here is the stoat nosing an egg out of the nest box.
This shows the stoat running off with the egg.
and this B&W photo shows it returning for more:
The trouble is it is not just one or two, we estimate about 8 eggs per day are being taken – the little blighters!