Ahhhhhhhh!!!!!!! SNAKE!!!!!!!! IN MY COOP!

[satay]

I don't know either but looks similar to the pythons we have over here that are non venomous. Poor snake... ( Don't mind me I love snakes) I see how others don't though so each to their own.

 

[UltraMegaChicken_5000]

Rat snake ... and yes .. they DO keep rats away. I wouldn't kill them if at all possible. get some snake away powder, works for me.

 

[verlaj]

How long does the snake away powder work for you? I put out "Snake Stopper," but after a rain, it was all gone as far as I can tell.

 

[dutchhollow]

Moth balls

 

[LesGan]

Used a spray "snake away" solution one year and it worked great. Has a clove base which confuses the snake's olfactory mechanism and since snake can't identify what it is smelling it avoids the area. You spray it on the ground where it soaks in and seemed to last the few months advertised. Looks like gray rat snake in the photo. With my snake stick I feel confident around non-poisonous snakes now and just relocate them far far away from my chickens. Snakes that hang around the chicken yard are looking for eggs and are not going to just jump up out of the clear blue and attack you.....just doing their survival thing and looking for food. Good luck....I would rather not have to deal with them either!!

 

[LesGan]

Watch out that your chickens can not get to the moth balls....they will eat them and then you have a real problem.

 

[Intheswamp]

Quote:
Yelp, black rat snake. Definitely good to have on patrol to keep the rat population down/away but not necessarily good to have in the coop. I would re-check all the nooks and crannies in your coop for cracks that would allow anything over 1/2" in diameter to get in...push and pull on things to see if some hardware cloth needs screwing down a bit tighter, or a piece of wood needs nailing over a hole. If the coop is a pole building with a dirt floor then it might be time to run an apron of 1/2" hw cloth screwed to the bottom of the coop around the perimeter. Get down as low as possible and try to get a snakes-eye view of the coop....there first choice would be to enter at ground level and they'll slither around poking and prodding as they test things out,.....BUT, they can climb as good as a raccoon, maybe even better, so the topside has to be secure, too!

Best wishes,
Ed

 

[Whispering Winds]

Quote:
I wonder if you could take cloves and boil them and spray that down . . .maybe put a dab of oil in it to make it "stick" . . .might be worth a try. Snakes don't worry me as much as coons. We have had a three generation family in our attic for the past 3 years, and I FINALLY found the spot they are coming in and out of, stupid contractor, so this will b e their last year, thank God. BUT, they know where I live . . . .

 

[texasgal]

... and all around your coop, the rats are rejoicing today !!

 

[TurtleFeathers]

I don't know why people brutally kill snakes like that - they're beneficial to have around, and most are harmless (such as the black rat pictured). Sure, we don't want them in our hen houses, but they can easily be removed and relocated.