Drama in da Coop Part Two

This post will conclude the drama in da coop miniseries. After careful detective work, the egg eater has been identified. I'm happy to report that after 24 hours of quarantine time in the dog pen she learned her lesson. It turned out Steve was innocent of this crime.

With patience and a keen eye I was able to isolate my egg eater. I camped outside the coop window looking for action. It was like waiting for water to boil, and after an hour I had to take a break from my post. I was a wreck. Was all my chicken husbandry in vain? So much had gone into the endeavor: building a coop, researching chicken breeds, figuring out how to buy chicks, raising baby chicks, feeding chickens, mastering chicken behavior, cleaning the coop. There was a lot at stake! Was I to lose it all to a cannabalistic chicken?

I went inside to read up on the egg eating problem. As usual, quarantining the guilty bird was recommended. Another tip was to put golf balls in the nests so that if they peck them, and they don't break, the fools figure out it's a dumb idea to peck golf balls and eggs in nests. The nest boxes should be plenty dark to facilitate relaxation. I also read that I should be looking for a bird with egg on it's beak. "Fat chance!" I thought. That would be a little too easy. I rounded up some golf balls and returned to the coop. I planted my golf balls in nests and returned to the outside of the coop. I hung some cloth inside in front of the nest boxes to make it darker and more private. I also put an old rug on top of the exterior of the nest box so that no cracks of sunlight could get in. Then, I got military style on the ground and examined each bird that walked by. As Amelia, my brown leghorn, waddled by I noticed that she had dried egg all over her legs! Before getting too excited, I  considered the possibility that she had just waded through some broken egg. I wanted just a little more evidence.

For my next move I decided to stake out the nest boxes. We built our coop in such a way that you can access the nest boxes from outside without being in the coop, for the ease of egg collection.

This is an old picture of the door, during the coop building process. That lower flap rises to close. Those boxes are now filled with straw, golf balls, and usually eggs.

Opening this door can be an eye opening experience.

It's like opening up a trap door behind a toilet while someone is using it. Many a time I have surprised a hen on a in her nest trying to lay. Much like walking in on someone trying to take a wiz we both get a little startled. She'll start to cackle and I'll quickly close the door. "Sorry!" I'll stammer.

Honey is getting a little crazy eyed. I really need to shut the door!

Fortune rained upon me in my hour of need and I caught Amelia in the box laying an egg.  Then I watched her turn around and bend towards the egg as if she were going to smell it or peck it. Before she could do either I snatched it. After all, it was my only good egg for the day. Amelia had earned herself a time out. After a short game of tag I took her to the dog pen across the yard. I set her up with water and a perch. Here she would stay for the next 24 hours.

I felt terrible. What would I do if she couldn't mend her ways? I would hate to have to kill her, or give her up. Who the hell would take a cannibal chicken anyway? Luckily, magically, since that day, no one has eaten any eggs. It's been weeks. This story is testament to the fact, that if you encounter a problem with your chickens, the first and only solution is to quarantine them. The end.