Australia - Six states..and that funny little island.

[vehve]

Somehow the plethora of venomous and poisonous creatures that live in Australia remind me of the definition of a helicopter I once heard. A million individual parts - all working together trying to kill you.

 

[appps]

Somehow the plethora of venomous and poisonous creatures that live in Australia remind me of the definition of a helicopter I once heard. A million individual parts - all working together trying to kill you.

You know the funny thing though. I often thank my lucky stars I don't live in one of these countries like America that actually have dangerous animals

 

[vehve]

Yup, they do have their fair share of predators. We are pretty lucky in Finland, wolves and bears aren't that common, lynx don't bother humans, and our only venomous snake is only dangerous if you're allergic. A moose can do some damage, but they only defend themselves when they're threatened.

 

[K Spot]

Quite a few of my American friends wonder how us Strayans live here with all the venomous critters we have here.

I just tell them well for the most part they leave you alone, but they can keep their wolves, bears, cougars. Not to mention all their chicken stealing/eating varmits like raccoons, opossums, coyotes, lynx, bobcats.

We are lucky here for the most part in that we don't have to reinforce our coops and runs like Fort Knox to protect our flocks from those wiley critters like the aforementioned.

 

[Steampunked]

Krista cover your ears. @Outpost JWB the eastern brown snake kills more people each year than any other snake in Australia. So just a little poisonous

Okay you can uncover now. They reakon more people get bitten trying to kill snakes than any other time so I think I'd be ringing round to see if there is someone who removes snakes locally. Know we have a guy so most areas probably do as well.

In addition, depending on where you are, all native snakes are protected species. To the point where if you are spotted deliberately killing one with a car (swerving, etc) you can receive a very, very large fine. Which is important because snakes are a vital part of the local ecology and also threatened with habitat loss.

They're unlikely to hang around too much with so much noise going on, but a snake remover is the best bet, and can do it legally

I've been around a lot of snakes and never been bitten, if it's any consolation, sat and watched them, etc.

 

[Outpost JWB]

Krista cover your ears. @Outpost JWB the eastern brown snake kills more people each year than any other snake in Australia. So just a little poisonous

Okay you can uncover now. They reakon more people get bitten trying to kill snakes than any other time so I think I'd be ringing round to see if there is someone who removes snakes locally. Know we have a guy so most areas probably do as well.

OH NO! YIKES! Sorry! Well then Krista, get familiar with a gun and shoot that sucker! Fix the holes in the coop later! I know a local lady who got bit by a snake while collecting eggs. There was a hen was sitting on the eggs-and the snake apparently. Be careful. (And I guess do it secretly--- if it's illegal???- What Snake?)

 

[birdman55]

oh venom snakes no good....here in michigan we have small snakes that hide in the hay...but when i find one i throw it over the fence to the chickens and they take care of the thing...its funny to watch they go crazy...but i dont know if that would work for big snakes...i threw one over that was a bit bigger then the normal ones and they just looked at it.....like no way am i messing with that thing...that is no worm

 

[appps]

Generally snakes here mind themselves. You just walk round them and let them head on their way. Except for tiger snakes which I have heard will chase you. I think most of us have a live and let live attitude over here which is quite different from the norm on this site lol. My hubby sees snakes all the time at his work, they just ignore each other and everyone gets to live to play another day . With the black ones it's almost better to leave the big one you know about than get rid of it and have a bunch of new ones you don't take their place. My parents had a big one living in their compost heap for quite some time, kept the mice down though lol

I couldn't handle one in my yard though. He would get an eviction notice and be escorted off the premises! Freaked me out no end a couple years back when we found the skin off a big black snake lying on our freshly mown back lawn. That is not supposed to happen in suburbia! Never saw it though so guess he was just travelling through.

 

[Fancychooklady]

We have tiger and copperheads here and I wouldn't mess with either. We have had them baled up in the hay , so we know they are here, we just don't see them often. Try laying some shade cloth around where you last saw the snake. The orchardists here say that once the snake slithers onto it they lose traction under their scales and can't move. But then again this could also be an old wives tale. When we lived in Sydney we used to see red belly blacks on a regular basis and they would continue basking in the sun as you wondered by, but browns and tigers are far more aggressive so if I were you I'd call in the ' snake man '. Your local wildlife refuge should be able to put you in touch with someone.

 

[satay]

G'day fellow Aussies!

Sorry to barge in on this thread but I have a bit of a dilemma and thought of all people, my fellow countrymen and women might be able to help me.

I am in country Victoria, it's stinking hot at the moment, and we have a reasonably large backyard shed converted into a chicken coop.  It's got an all wire frontage and the rest of the coop is corrugated tin sheeting.  It's a bit rickety with a few odd gaps, but it's the best we can do and it is dry in the Winter time (now we have the tarp over it!)

Anyway....today I went in there to see the chooks as I so often do, and up in the roof was a brown snake.

Naturally, I crapped myself.....

After re-grouping, I ran and got hubby and we chased and banged our way around the coop together for an hour.  During this debacle we (of course) lost sight of the snake!

As you can imagine, I am somewhat unsettled by this, especially considering I am the main care-giver of the flock!  We have no idea if the snake is now inside or outside of the coop, but if I were a betting woman I'd say it was inside, quietly biding it's time, waiting to launch itself at me next time I innocently mosey on into the coop.

My questions are as follows:-

1.  How can I train my chickens to become fully self-sufficient, clean their own feeders and waterers and generally exist without any help from me in the coop?!  and IF that's not possible....

2.  Do brown snakes eat full-grown chickens?

3.  Do they eat young chicks? (I have four (8 week old) chicks and one (10 week old) chick as well, all residing in a sectioned off corner of the main coop.

4.  Is there any way to encourage said snake to rack off?

The snake itself was maybe 2.5 to 3 feet long, and quite skinny.   I get the impression it was a 'young' snake, but somewhat of a desperado with a mean streak and a taste for chicken.....

HELP!

- Krista

The snake was probably just basking in the warmth. Yes a brown will eat young chickens if they get a chance, infact a full grown brown could eat up to a say 4/5 week old chicken with no problems. If you have ever seen a snake eat anything they dislocate their jaws so can fit in things quite larger than it would appear , My coastal carpet will eat a 4 week old chicken. You could call out a snake catcher, They will come get it and relocate it for you for a small fee I would advise against trying to kill it yourself as browns are quite an aggressive snake and most people are bitten by them trying to kill them.
There is not really a good way to keep snakes away unless you have a snake proof coop. Small wire (not chicken wire) and make sure there are not gaps. Remember a snake is just looking for dinner and an open coop with easy access is like taking us to sizzler and expecting us not to eat.