3 snakes in 3 days and now low egg production

[chickengeorgeto]

Use moth balls all around the coop...

Y'all got some mighty BIG moths down there in Texas if their eating or stealing yo hen eggs!

 

[RWise]

I put golf balls in all nests (1 per nest) just for snakes, they eat them and do not come back. I dont like killing them either, but if they are guilty of robbing me,,,, I would also suggest getting the eggs at sunset, leaving nothing but fake eggs.
A minnow trap baited with an egg or 2 will trap snakes, can be home built or store bought.
BTW a rat will steal the golf balls and hide them all over the place,,,

 

[TejasJeff]

Three birds and three days is much too small of a sample size to look at snakes as a cause. It could simply be a coincidence.
Snakes are out there all the time, you just don't always see them.

Gosh I hear you on them being there. I live on acreage and surrounded by nature. Each time I've found a snake in the coop, they have been in the nesting boxes. I have not found eggs in the boxes since the last snake I removed a few weeks ago. If I find an egg, it's near the feeder or they drop them below where they roost. I'm going to try and secure the coop better than it is now...via wire mesh.

 

[aart]

An abundance of snakes can mean an abundance of rodents.
Keep feed in metal cans and maybe lock feeders up at night.
Keep vegetation cut down around coop...to help deter both rodents and snakes.

I got the Tejas reference, but it can help to put your location in your profile so it shows up under your avatar. It's easy to do, then it's always there!

 

[TejasJeff]

Done. Even added an avatar...my girls took over the back porch as they usually do.

An abundance of snakes can mean an abundance of rodents.
Keep feed in metal cans and maybe lock feeders up at night.
Keep vegetation cut down around coop...to help deter both rodents and snakes.

I got the Tejas reference, but it can help to put your location in your profile so it shows up under your avatar. It's easy to do, then it's always there!
View attachment 1420177

 

[Patty724]

I opened my chicken coop this morning and was met by the tail of a black snack with his head in one of my nesting boxes. he was gone by the time I got everyone out safely. Help! How do I keep the snakes out?

 

[TejasJeff]

I opened my chicken coop this morning and was met by the tail of a black snack with his head in one of my nesting boxes. he was gone by the time I got everyone out safely. Help! How do I keep the snakes out?

Did you have any eggs?

Suggestions I've received so far: 1) mothballs 2) wire mesh around perimeter and buried 3) bundled wire around perimeter forcing snake to traverse that and get stuck 4) minnow bait trap with eggs to to attract snake and trap them 3) office mates suggested snake-away 4) One office mate suggested bring chickens indoors or move out of the country! (I'm NOT kidding!!)

Good luck!

 

[coach723]

All good suggestions (I cannot vouch for the mothballs, never tried it). If you can keep the mice out, the snakes will not be so numerous. I find snakes in my nest boxes occasionally, I know it's mice they are after, and I've even found a hen sitting on eggs AND a snake. I have electric traps for mice set always, still catch one once in a while, but since they are less, so are the snakes. I just relocate the snakes away from the coop. I keep golf balls in my nests so the girls don't fuss over the 'favorite' one and have not had one go missing. If golf balls disappear I'd be more inclined to suspect a rat. If you use 1/2 or smaller hardware cloth that should keep everything but mice out. It will stop snakes, but they can climb, and fit through very small gaps, so any hole anywhere is an opportunity.
Edit: I read a thread somewhere where the bundled netting around the bottom to trap them was suggested. Personally I'm not a fan of that. I had berries that I netted from the birds one year and one morning found 4 snakes stuck in it and dead, all non-venomous. I don't net the berries anymore, we just share. I'm just not into killing when it's unnecessary, and despite how despised snakes generally are, they are beneficial.

 

[Patty724]

Yes, I do have eggs. Usually a regular supply.

I appreciate the suggestions! Can I pick your brain though? As a newbie in this chicken life, won't the chickens peck at the moth balls and eat them?
I've heard sulfur will also keep them away. Have you heard this?

Thanks again

 

[Patty724]

All good suggestions (I cannot vouch for the mothballs, never tried it). If you can keep the mice out, the snakes will not be so numerous. I find snakes in my nest boxes occasionally, I know it's mice they are after, and I've even found a hen sitting on eggs AND a snake. I have electric traps for mice set always, still catch one once in a while, but since they are less, so are the snakes. I just relocate the snakes away from the coop. I keep golf balls in my nests so the girls don't fuss over the 'favorite' one and have not had one go missing. If golf balls disappear I'd be more inclined to suspect a rat. If you use 1/2 or smaller hardware cloth that should keep everything but mice out. It will stop snakes, but they can climb, and fit through very small gaps, so any hole anywhere is an opportunity.

I'm NOT good with snakes! Did your heart drop when you saw a hen sitting on a snake???