trouble with snakes eating eggs

[Sunny Side Up]

Ruth, I apologize if I offended you or any others with my words. I was trying to be considerate & diplomatic while making my point.

I'm not saying that every single snake must be accomodated, that snakes cannot be a problem to chicken owners. I was just curious as to how folks were losing quantities of eggs to snakes. You have species of snakes there that are different from the ones here in South Florida. If I encountered such a large & bold snake as you pictured threatening the chickens or the children I probably would have killed it too.

But I think it's wrong to kill each & every snake you see just on principle, because it might possibly be the kind that eats eggs/chicks, because it sort of looks like a venomous one, because they give you the creeps. I didn't realize there were people in the world who would intentionally steer their vehicle to run over a snake on the road, that seems unnecessarily cruel.

I think it's both practical and ethical to take the time to know the types of reptiles, insects, arachnids, birds & mammals that live around our homeplaces which can pose a threat to us, our families, & our livestock. That way we can respond decisively & quickly when there is a truly dangerous encounter, and when we can safely leave things alone.

And thank you for your concern on my son's behalf. The red rat snake he now cares for is not the same species as your pitchfork-grippng giant, it won't grow as big nor be as aggressive. Ours is a species commonly kept as pets, they're also called corn snakes since they were often found around the corn cribs eating the vermin there. We took her to a local pet store owned by a renowned herpetologist who examined her for us and confirmed her health & sex. He showed my son how to hold her & care for her, and told us that these were good snakes for beginners, that they are docile & tame easily.

 

[ruth]

Hi Sunny - no apology necessary here. You didn't offend me at all. I was posting because I know how these kinds of threads can go and they can get really heated. I'm not offended by people's opinions and just wanted to point out that everyone has a different one especially when it comes to predators and these threads can easily get out of hand.

I was, however, trying to answer your specific question about egg eating snakes - what to do with them is a totally different thing left to each person's opinions.

 

[S n M Poultry]

you could spread motth balls all around the outside of your coop/pen. It keeps snakes and mice away. i put them in my barn and i dont have a mouse problem anymore.

 

[augiedranch]

Quote:
the snakes do for me cause alot of "trouble." i mean, i like snakes, i am going thru vet school. i babysat a friends snake at my house for two months.. my myspace has me holding and playing with snakes..
BUT there is no need for one snake to sit there, yes in the middle of the day eat 24 eggs. thats 24 eggs that i dont have anymore.

and i dont know how close u are to ur chicks. but mine at that age that u lost to a snake are very very tame, named, and loved. so i wouldnt except just a couple or one or two babies dead..

i am going thru vet school full time and work two jobs. one is an unpaid internship.
i am not home enough to watch for snakes, or pick up eggs ten times a day. and the eggs are my food money so that i can eat while at school and work. so i need the eggs.

also, its not fair for my chicks to be cooped up all the time, jst because of a snake. who could go eleswhere and find him some food and actually be a predator and go search and find food to eat instead of sitting in one spot happily eating 20 plus eggs and baby chicks. and my expensive homing pigeons. just cuz hes not wanting to go find food eleswhere.

im sure if a bob cat come to ur house and ate ur pet dog u would sure do something about it...

 

[augiedranch]

Quote:

 

[dogzrule5]

I got really upset a couple of years ago when I opened the barn door to see that a black snake had swallowed a chick.

I read somewhere that moth balls will deter snakes. I sprinkled some around the perimiter of the barn and under some crevices where the chickens wouldn't be able to get to them. It seemed to help with the snakes. Only think was, I swear my eggs tasted funny, so I made sure the moth balls weren't near the nest boxes.

 

[Sunny Side Up]

Well, Augiedranch, I simply did not know that there were snakes who could eat chicken eggs by the dozens. There has yet to be one doing that at my place here in South Fla, so that is why I was curious to know more about other folks' experiences with their local snakes. I'm sure I would also be quick to dispatch any such snakes if I found them eating up my chickens' eggs in such quantities.

I just took issue with the wholesale slaughter of any & every snake whether or not they were eating eggs & chicks or just crossing the road.

And I hope you're not implying that I do not care about my chicks or their comfort. I don't "keep them cooped up all the time", just safely caged inside the house or on the porch overnight to prevent further loss from snakes or other predators. And my children & I spend much time tending & handling & naming & loving our chicks. We were very grieved over losing the ones we did to the snakes, my two youngest still mention them occasionally, by name, and sadly. One of those chicks was one that we rescued out of its eggshell when it was being attacked by fire ants after it pipped. We saved its life and carefully nurtured it to full strength & health, then had to buy a couple of other chick pals for it since the mama hen wouldn't take it back with her clutch. That made it all the more upsetting to have that chick lose its life to a snake, who then didn't even swallow it!

But it wouldn't justify us killing each & every snake to cross our property, whether or not they were the type to eat eggs or chicks, or the type that could inflict a painful but nonvenomous bite, or the type that sort of looked like those which gave us real trouble, or veering our vehicles to run over snakes on the road which might appear to be venomous as we whiz by at 45 mph.

I think it's especially important to those of us who raise & tend pets & livestock to also be practical & responsible when it comes to the wildlife around our home places. It's essential that we take the time to learn about the habits of & possibility of threat from each species. Of course there are times when we must catch/remove/kill predators & pests. I have no problem with that. But it's a shame to kill animals simply out of dislike, suspicion, fear, or ignorance.

 

[augiedranch]

i agree sunnysideup

i wasnt applying that u didnt like ur little ones at all. i am sorry for your loss and i feel badly about your kiddos missing them. me, not having any kids i dont have to deal with that, and if i did. i would prob be really upset seeing my kids upset. you just asked why they were such a problem, and i wanted to let you know.... chicken snakes are huge! and to them one little egg isnt a meal at all.. barely a snack... so its really easy to consume lots of them. i have on occasion transported snakes. but,, being difficult to catch them, and transport them safely for me and for them proved to be hard. i also didnt want them to become a burdon on someone eles. i would never run over a snake on the road, and never would i attempt to kill one while out camping or fishing. (which i do almost weekly and see many snakes, some venemous.) im just protecting my livestock. thanks for you suggestions. and i do hope that someday,, people will see snakes as beautiful smart creatures,, not slimmly gross slithering things.. i just cannot afford any more losses on my small ,small scale farm....

 

[Sunny Side Up]

Thank you, Augiedranch, that was very nicely said.

And I'm sorry for the size & scope of your snake problems there! I had no idea. I thought we had all the worst reptiles here in our tropical swamps, both native & exotic. But we don't (yet) have snakes that will swallow eggs by the dozens.

Sometimes we wonder if our Snakey is the same snake that killed but couldn't consume two of the chicks we lost. The first snake we had found wrapped around a chick was easily caught in a bucket and just as easily transported to a nearby nature preserve. It was a native species and released into its natural habitat, far away from any other homes or farms. The two other chicks were found dead long after the snake had spit them out, so we never saw it.

The night I found Snakey crawling out by the chicken pens my first thought was "catch it in a bucket" rather than "whack it with a hoe" and I don't know why, but that's what I did. Only then did I remember my son had been asking for a pet snake, & I decided to see if we could keep her. If not, I would have released her at that same nature center, since she was already neatly contained.

It turns out that these red rat snakes are docile and make good pets. So now Snakey is living a domestic life of comfort & ease, and our chicks have at least one less snake to threaten them.

 

[Southern28Chick]

Use snake away and moth balls around the outside of the chicken yard/house. That will keep snakes away. Do not use it if your chickens free range because it's harmful to the chickens.

6 foot snakes can and will eat chicks and smaller hens. I'm going to spead out the snake away soon since I do have some small white leghorns that would make a nice meal for a black snake.

IMO, feeding golf balls to any animal is cruel. ONCE AGAIN, THAT IS MY OPINION.