That Damn Magpie.

If its not the Fox, its the damn Maggie!!. Caught him red beaked on the trail cam eating eggs in the nest box. There is always something after a bit of yer action. I blamed the chooks at first. I have now given them a written apology.

The magpie is a saucy varlet. I have found the only cure for him is lead. I hate shooting the rogue, but it's him or your eggs - you can't have both!

At the moment he lives, but there is no guarantees he will stay that way!!. I am not letting the chooks out until they they have laid so when he enters there is nothing for him. I am trying to break the cycle before !!!.

I found sometimes that hanging a plastic bag or bottle at the entrance to the nestbox will stop him going in. He is very wary of anything new, and it doesn't deter the hens from going in. Change the colour of the bag every couple of days.

Cheers for that Sean. It would seem that it is a family group and not just one bird. I have a small enclosure up against the coop which the rogues have to drop down into before they can enter the hen house. I will net this and that should stop then. You can see why they build roofs on their own nests.

My mongrel hens lay randomly through the day which is a bit of a pain. This gives the buggers many hours to have a go at the eggs. So now I dont let the hens out until they have laid. Problem solved.