Chicken Snakes -Preventative Measures?

Dogs help. We got one yesterday that our dog found in the field. She didn't attack it, just barked at it till I came.

I could not tell what type of snake it was because it was in very tall grass and curled into striking position. It struck at my dog so so I shot it but turned out to be a rat snake.

 

That thing is pretty dang big. Haven't seen any like for a while. What other critters should I keep a look out for this time of year?

 

My only advice would be to find where the snake is getting in at and fix it. Use small holed hardware cloth so the snake cant fit thru.

 

I have seen poultry netting (the plastic kind) used to trap snakes. Roll it loosely and lay it around where the snake is getting in, they will slither through it and get tangled up.

 

Are they getting your eggs?

 

I was having problems with snakes going for the eggs. I built a small wire cage, with spacing big enough to only admit a snake. Inside, I made a "nest" and put some eggs in there. Before I did, I took one of my wife's insulin hypodermic needles and injected antifreeze into the egg. It didn't take much! Put an end to that problem in no time. JA

 

Try pouring a line of sulfur around the coop area....the sulfur does two things....it gets between the scales and becomes an infectious irritant to the snake which then avoids the area if he lives,..it also keeps rats/mice away by the smell,....thus less tempting for a snake to follow....ive had good luck with it...was wasting to much ammo killing snakes every cpl days. Thes black snakes were getting huge from all the eggs they stole.

 

That's a huge snake!

 

I have killed two or three blacksnakes about six foot long in my coop. When a snake finds your eggs he will keep coming back. I bought something called Snake Stopper at The Tractor Store. I's a powder, doesn't smell bad, sorta like cinnamon, but the snakes don't like it & won't cross it. I put it across the top of the chicken ladder & around the inside of my hen house where the rain won't wash it away. It seems to work pretty well. The poisoned egg trick sounds good too. I have heard of people seeding their nest box with golf balls. The snake swallows a ball or two then can't get rid of it & dies.

 

wow ! im glad we dont have snakes over here !

 

I am snake paranoid, if I find a snake in my pen or run, I'm gonna have a stroke) My cchicks are 2.5 weeks old and not outside yet, My run is 12 x 20 and covered with 1/2 hardware mesh, I have so many screws/washers in that sucker, it's like Fort Knox

 

This is what we have done for years and yes, it has worked well for us. When I find the golf balls missing I replace them.

 

I looked at a bag of "snake stopper" at the local farm store...its main ingredients were sulfur and cinnamon,...asked the owner of the store he said either ping-pong balls or powdered sulfur. We tried the balls first but the hens didnt like them and kicked them from the nest area........

The picture of the snake there is near the size of BLACKSNAKES we got 'round here.....the last one we found was as thick as my forearm and 7 ft in length.......didnt kill it,.....just relocated the rascal. Reason is,..blacksnakes will kill poisonous snakes and will keep the rat population in check.....

 

I was always told that blacksnakes would kill poisonous snakes but the ones that were living at our farm (when we first moved) missed that memo. Most of the old sheds that we were cleaning up had both in them.

Copperheads near the floor and under stuff, while the blacksnake were higher ... in the shelves and such.

My husband, like you will not kill a snake (unless he has to) but will take it off. He is in the mind that they have a place in the world. (like keeping the rats in check)

 

Edited to delete

 

Cool picture!

 

I shot it with a 12ga.

 

Thought I would share a picture of a few I caught the other day.

The darker, smaller one is the male, the lighter colored one is a female. The females are bigger than the males.
The biggest problem that most people have is, a female will find a good nesting place somewhere close to the food,
(they love rotten or fallen trees)
and the males will come to her from miles around.

Those are duck eggs they were trying to get.