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snake just ate my chicken

post #1 of 110
5/3/12 at 5:18am
Thread Starter 

I'm new to chickens.  Our chickens are 8 1/2 weeks old.  They are almost full size, not chicks anymore.  When I was putting them in the coop last night, I encountered two black snakes outside the coop.  My husband and I decided not to kill them, since our chickens aren't laying eggs yet; we have buried fencing around the bottom of the coop and have closed any holes that might allow varmits to get inside.  And we read from "BackYard Chickens" that snakes do not eat chickens.  This morning my husband went to let the chickens out to range and found one chicken dead.  It's neck was twisted and wet, like it had been swallowed up to its breasts and then abandoned because it was too big for the snake to swallow.  Now what?  Should we kill the snakes?  or assume that this is a fluke and keep the snakes around the feed to kill mice.

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post #2 of 110
5/3/12 at 5:37am
Dispose of the snakes. I try to let the black snakes be, as you said- to control pests, but if I catch them in the nest boxes or suffocating chicks they've got to go. Better safe than sorry. Good luck.
Nikki
*C'mon, get flappy!*
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Nikki
*C'mon, get flappy!*
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post #3 of 110
5/3/12 at 5:41am
Eight weeks old is not yet mature (or large) enough to allow snakes around as you've already found out. I don't worry about them around my mature hens as they really are too big for a snake (NATIVE to Florida) to be interested in, but eight weeks old is not quite there yet.

I would NOT kill the snakes however. Simply catch them and transport them at least a mile away and release. They're not venomous and not hard to catch. I don't do this with other chicken predators, just non-venomous snakes.
Chance favors the prepared mind.
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Chance favors the prepared mind.
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post #4 of 110
5/3/12 at 6:05am
I came across the prettiest 6 ft snake in my chicken house. He was after a rat so I let him alone. A few weeks later I saw him outside the house eating another rat. I was so pleased with it & took pics. I was certain he was big enough to kill other snakes. I would even leave it eggs. Then 1 morning I went out to my babies cage & somehow he had gotten in. He killed 2 & 1 was in its belly. I can't seem to post a pic of this but will try again. By this time it was 7 ft. Well my husband cut off his head & I will never let a snake live again!
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post #5 of 110
5/3/12 at 7:01am
frow.gif Welcome to the forum! frow.gif Glad you joined us! Just wish it was under better conditions. frow.gif

Snakes are a personal choice. Here in Arkansas it is illegal to kill them or relocate them. I don't know what the laws are in your location.

I generally leave nonpoisonous snakes alone if they are not in the coop. They do help control the mouse population. I also try to keep the number of mice down to discourage them from going in my coop, but that is rough, even with constant trapping.

I have had a black snake eat the eggs out from under a broody. I've also found snakes in my coop with golf balls inside them so they could not get back out of the same hole they came in. I'm pretty sure I have a snake eating eggs now. About every two or three days I find the number of eggs I get about three or four less than it should be. That normally means snake.

If I find a snake in the coop I try to make sure it never steals another egg. Otherwise, I leave them alone. But that is my personal choice. I can't make that decision for you.
Freedom is not the right to do what we want, but what we ought....Abraham Lincoln (Freedom carries responsibility)

The spirit of liberty is the spirit which is not too sure that it is right.....Judge Learned Hand  (The more sure your are that your way is the only right way, the more likely you are wrong.)
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Freedom is not the right to do what we want, but what we ought....Abraham Lincoln (Freedom carries responsibility)

The spirit of liberty is the spirit which is not too sure that it is right.....Judge Learned Hand  (The more sure your are that your way is the only right way, the more likely you are wrong.)
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post #6 of 110
5/3/12 at 7:07am

Sooo Lucky I do not have a big problem with this where I am located.. Still waiting for my goose bumps to go down .. I know my fears are irrational yet they are very present  ...barnie.gif

I have about 20 Mature Hens and Roosters Different Breeds (RIR's, EE's, OEGB, Buff Orp.'s)  and approximately 60 Chicks different ages and a large variety adding more constantly (Jersey Giants, Black Australorp, White leghorn, Buff Orps.'s RIR and mixed bred), Three Dogs One Pure Bread Doxie two mixed Breeds, 4 Ducks (2 white Peking, One Muscovy, One mixed breed)2 baby Mallard chicks , 2...

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I have about 20 Mature Hens and Roosters Different Breeds (RIR's, EE's, OEGB, Buff Orp.'s)  and approximately 60 Chicks different ages and a large variety adding more constantly (Jersey Giants, Black Australorp, White leghorn, Buff Orps.'s RIR and mixed bred), Three Dogs One Pure Bread Doxie two mixed Breeds, 4 Ducks (2 white Peking, One Muscovy, One mixed breed)2 baby Mallard chicks , 2...

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post #7 of 110
5/3/12 at 7:37am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Ridgerunner View Post

frow.gif Welcome to the forum! frow.gif Glad you joined us! Just wish it was under better conditions. frow.gif
Snakes are a personal choice. Here in Arkansas it is illegal to kill them or relocate them. I don't know what the laws are in your location.
I generally leave nonpoisonous snakes alone if they are not in the coop. They do help control the mouse population. I also try to keep the number of mice down to discourage them from going in my coop, but that is rough, even with constant trapping.
I have had a black snake eat the eggs out from under a broody. I've also found snakes in my coop with golf balls inside them so they could not get back out of the same hole they came in. I'm pretty sure I have a snake eating eggs now. About every two or three days I find the number of eggs I get about three or four less than it should be. That normally means snake.
If I find a snake in the coop I try to make sure it never steals another egg. Otherwise, I leave them alone. But that is my personal choice. I can't make that decision for you.

Guess I'm never going to Arkansas. What devil created that law? Unbelievable!!
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post #8 of 110
5/3/12 at 7:42am
I personally cut off a timber rattle snakes head I found in my yard. Previously I had lost several cats & chickens from snake bites. Would think it a great injustice that they could kill & not be killed
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post #9 of 110
5/3/12 at 7:55am

I have baby chicks abt. 9 weeks old. I have been letting them out to range with the older hen but last night found 2 dead. They weren't tore up just a few little feathers around one but they were dead. what could have done this?

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post #10 of 110
5/3/12 at 11:39am

Everything kills a chicken, those black snakes are not called "chicken" snakes as a joke....lol....i caught one on my porch last year, grabbed him and transported him down the road a mile, he was back the next week, so i killled him, once they find eggs, they will not stop. Raccoons are terrible also, since the fur industry has gone down the tubes, their population has gone out of control, if you have a raccoon problem, help out the environment and shoot them, if legal where you live. Fox, bobcats, and coyotes will all take an easy meal when they can, where i live you can take action to protect your livestock and it also helps control their populations which have also gone out of control. We can even kill hawks and owls if they are a problem and everyone knows they dont have anything preying on them. I guess it just comes down to what you can and cant live with.


Edited by WildWorks - 5/3/12 at 11:42am
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