Just found a ratsnake in the laybox with the chicks in the coop!
Last year I lost several bantam chicks, a bantam broody and an adolescent young banty male to a larger ratsnake that raided the coop 3 times. I moved her once and she came back, second time I drove 7 miles down the road and left her near a stream. I came to like that snake as she was very very tame, for a second I thought it was her but this snake is much smaller and not so friendly.
Never saw one in the coop in the middle of the day though! Acks! They must SMELL the chickens/eggs. Weird thing was the snake had to go right past my flock to get into the coop and no one raise a ruckus.
Right now my broody bantam and her two tiny week old chicks are in a sectioned off area of the coop, I gathered them up in a cat carrier so they would be safe while I caught the snake. The broody was peeved at me for shoeing them in the carrier and taking them out of the coop so I turned the carrier towards the laying box with the snake in it and she SCREAMED! She lost several babies last year. I have had her and the chicks sleep in a cat carrier at night with hardware cloth on the door to as an extra precaution inside the locked coop. Not sure if I should have let her see the snake, but on the other hand she needs to be aware that they can be out during the daytime.
FYI I am not posting this so folks can brag about how they love killing snakes, as if it is some impressive accomplishment, in fact in Georgia it is against the law to kill non-venomous reptiles. I am just sharing the story. The snake is in a pillow case in the pump house where it is cool, he will stay there for a couple of days until I go into town and can relocate him.
Last year I lost several bantam chicks, a bantam broody and an adolescent young banty male to a larger ratsnake that raided the coop 3 times. I moved her once and she came back, second time I drove 7 miles down the road and left her near a stream. I came to like that snake as she was very very tame, for a second I thought it was her but this snake is much smaller and not so friendly.
Never saw one in the coop in the middle of the day though! Acks! They must SMELL the chickens/eggs. Weird thing was the snake had to go right past my flock to get into the coop and no one raise a ruckus.
Right now my broody bantam and her two tiny week old chicks are in a sectioned off area of the coop, I gathered them up in a cat carrier so they would be safe while I caught the snake. The broody was peeved at me for shoeing them in the carrier and taking them out of the coop so I turned the carrier towards the laying box with the snake in it and she SCREAMED! She lost several babies last year. I have had her and the chicks sleep in a cat carrier at night with hardware cloth on the door to as an extra precaution inside the locked coop. Not sure if I should have let her see the snake, but on the other hand she needs to be aware that they can be out during the daytime.
FYI I am not posting this so folks can brag about how they love killing snakes, as if it is some impressive accomplishment, in fact in Georgia it is against the law to kill non-venomous reptiles. I am just sharing the story. The snake is in a pillow case in the pump house where it is cool, he will stay there for a couple of days until I go into town and can relocate him.