What do you do about SNAKES??

We kill them or our chickens chase and/or eat them.

We have Rat snakes, Copperheads, Cottonmouths and a bunch more, haven't seen Rattler for a few years. No Rat snakes don't keep Copperheads away. I expect to see more this year as they will be putting in a new FRWY behind us. Actually. Every snake we've come across seems to be a different one.

I believe I have lost 1 hen (my best ever layer) to a snake bite (Copperhead). My chickens have learned to chase them into the garden. The beds are covered with bird netting to keep the chickens out until the beds grow out. I have actually seen them chase a snake that was heading for me, away into the garden. Snake escaped chickens but not the netting. Got Tangled. When we cleared the netting from 1 garden bed my DH had to cut out 4 dead snakes.

That doesn't include the snake that tried to get away from my hens in their run. It climbed the fence, but the run is covered with bird netting and got tangled. We are talking BIG snakes. I have not seen any small snakes around here since we got back into chickens, I assume they find them and eat heartily.

We are going to add a foot or 2 of 1/2 inch Hardware cloth around the bottom of our fenceline because of the construction. With climbing snakes, i don't know if it will really help. But, Maybe that will cut down on the snakes. I hope so.

Oh, careful in the Hen house. I reached into a nest to check for eggs once and a nice huge rat snake was wrapped around a Beautiful Blue EE Egg. Oh Yes, I collect eggs often durig the day and clean up any broken eggs ASAP. Eggs will draw snakes. We keep our Can (Snake) Grappers handy from Frost Free until First Frost. They get used alot. I'm sorry but I hate snakes.

It's pretty bad when my boys hear me scream they yell, "Mom saw a snake, let's go catch it!"

rhoda_bruce wrote Yes......mothballs will help.

I haven't used Moth balls for snakes for fear the hens or chicks would get to them. Are they safe to use around chickens, cats and dogs? I was thinking about tossing them under our house (on short piers).

I wish I could have Guineas or Pea Fowl can't because of the noise here in suburbia/country. I know Peacocks eat snakes. Hopeing my Muscovies will take out a few. My Mr Drake is soooo protective of his young ones. Can't wait to see what happens come spring. I think he is going to send snakes packing across the property with a hissing escort. What do you think, will Muscovies kill snakes? I think I read they do, I forget.

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Thats what I'm hoping for- they learn there place but am worried about the poisonous ones since I have a 3 yr old that loves animals. Also I saw my DH freak out and bout hurt himself over a green snake one day - it was hilarious to see someone 6'4 and 260 freaking out over this tiny harmless snake.


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Muscovies will eat anything!! Alive or dead even trash.


I second the bird netting last year a rat snake got into my quail pens and we found it tangled up in the netting.

Black king snakes WILL eat copperheads, or any other snake or lizard it can fit in its mouth. Darn copperheads are terribly prolific though. They sure have a purty hide, and look awful nice glued to the back of a hedgeapple bow...

As of last spring we are now blessed with our very own snake dog. The runt Malinois someone dumped on our road has a visceral hatred of copperheads and rattlers. I had encountered such useful canines a couple times in my 20 years wandering. Vixey goes berserk when she finds a viper. I hear her "snake bark" and go out with a stick and small shovel. She scored 5 copperheads last summer, and it was not a bad year for them, I hardly saw any as road kill. One was at the foot of our porch stairs at 10 pm.

Its a shame no one breeds and trains snake dogs systematically. It does seem to be an inborn thing.

When I said that mothballs would help, I posted it to get a situation under control, and didn't consider the safety of chickens. Naturally I wouldn't believe that chickens could survive the wilderness anyway, unless the area was secured. Far too many preditors. My brother-in-law works in lawncare and he uses the crumbled mothballs to control snakes, but I don't use anything. They are just here. One of them killed my rat terrior last summer. I do kill snakes. The ones I kill are dangerous. I have small children and they really aren't welcomed. But they will return. No matter how many I kill, there is more out there I can't see.

I agree about having a snake dog. My Terrier Mix (about 40#-Part Beagle) was Snake bit when she was just over a year old, real sick for 2 months, now I know to keep Benadryl on hand for the Dogs, just in case. Give them Benadryl to slow the swelling then call the vet for antibiotics.
Anyway, she spots frogs, squirrels and birds just points and barks. Since she was snake bit she spots snakes, but she freezes, points, backs off and is fixated on that spot. I watch for that behavior from her and get my grabbers and a shovel. Or the chickens will run it into netting if I'm not fast enough. Or if the chickens aren't out of their run then I yell Snake and DH comes out with grabber and a shovel or an ice cutter (sharpened).

Get a Dog, not a pup, to walk the grounds with you. Watch its behavior and take notice when it points and backs off. Tread lightly in that area or be prepared.

If we lived where there weren't many venemous snakes I wouldn't worry about them. BUT, I swear, I have seen more snakes of all kinds here in Texas in the last few years than I have in the past 50 years all put together. And I am no snake expert or even knowledgable on snakes. I don't know which are venemous or not-so I kill them if I catch them. And they will eat my eggs and kill my chicks and one has killed one of my hens and almost killed my dog. That is my pet and my food not snake food.

You'd think between my chickens and the dog next door (a Chow that catches and kills snakes) we wouldn't see to many. But evidently, we are only seeing the ones that are to big for the hens to eat before they can get next door to meet their demise.

Well, so far we have given you 5 animal choices.
1. Several Dog breeds that hate snakes.
2. Chickens armed with bird netting.
3. Muscovy Ducks.
4. Peacocks
5. Guineas.
You choose the order of preference for your situation. Cool hey, all natural according to Natural Instinct. A small army of animal snake persuers.

Any more ways to deal with snakes that are being used out there, other than target practice?

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And it makes a good argument for more animals. When dh says we dont need anymore critters- I can comeback but they will help with the snakes
The only one I'm not so sure about is peacocks- they make allot of very loud noise dont they?