Okay - I just need to share!
I went out just before bed last night to check on the chickens as usual. We have a big, open-sided coop all covered with chicken wire and fiberglas roofing.
When I shined my flashlight into the coop to check on the chickens, I saw a BIG chicken snake dangling from the ridgecap down to the high roost where my lovely youngsters from Halo's eggs like to perch!! First it startled me so that I almost choked and then it startled the poor little cockerel in its path, who went fluttering and squawking to earth!
I couldn't really tell how big the snake was at first - all I could see was this classic serpentine thing hanging down 1.5 ft from the roof! Of course, went to get my knight in shining armor, because no way was I going to try to capture that thing!
I actually wasn't sure my beloved would be able to get it down or that it would still be there on our return, but indeed it was, now stretched out on top of the chicken wire and under the fiberglas. My beloved tried to grab the little bit of exposed snake, but couldn't get a good grip.
My dearest frightened the thing repeatedly by knocking the roof with a shovel, until it escaped on top of the roof, then chased it with my guidance from afar, until it came down to earth. With me trying to hold a flashlight steady on the beast, the dear man captured and subdued the mighty reptile with his bare hands and brought it into the house where we secured it in not 1, but 2 pillowcases, one tied closed inside another.
Despite probable objections from some parties here, we did not kill the beast. It slept a peaceful night inside the pillowcases in our laundry tub, and on the way to work, I released it on the edge of a 21,000 acre state preserve, where I believe he will fit right in and live out his days without terrorizing innocent chicken keepers.
I was trying to be rational when I released the snake, to get an accurate, not exaggerated, estimate of its size. I swear at its thickest part it was as big as a paper towel tube and at least 5 ft long. (My hero looks at me with raised eyebrows, but he did not have perspective on the creature, as he was wrassling it and it was coiled around his arms when he last saw it. He does admit it was very strong.)
Sorry - no pictures. We did not have the presence of mind to photograph. But the image of that big snake dangling from the roof of the coop is burned in my memory. I will be checking overhead carefully when I enter for quite some time! I still have the willies! The chickens, however, seem none the worse for the experience.
I went out just before bed last night to check on the chickens as usual. We have a big, open-sided coop all covered with chicken wire and fiberglas roofing.
When I shined my flashlight into the coop to check on the chickens, I saw a BIG chicken snake dangling from the ridgecap down to the high roost where my lovely youngsters from Halo's eggs like to perch!! First it startled me so that I almost choked and then it startled the poor little cockerel in its path, who went fluttering and squawking to earth!
I couldn't really tell how big the snake was at first - all I could see was this classic serpentine thing hanging down 1.5 ft from the roof! Of course, went to get my knight in shining armor, because no way was I going to try to capture that thing!
I actually wasn't sure my beloved would be able to get it down or that it would still be there on our return, but indeed it was, now stretched out on top of the chicken wire and under the fiberglas. My beloved tried to grab the little bit of exposed snake, but couldn't get a good grip.
My dearest frightened the thing repeatedly by knocking the roof with a shovel, until it escaped on top of the roof, then chased it with my guidance from afar, until it came down to earth. With me trying to hold a flashlight steady on the beast, the dear man captured and subdued the mighty reptile with his bare hands and brought it into the house where we secured it in not 1, but 2 pillowcases, one tied closed inside another.
Despite probable objections from some parties here, we did not kill the beast. It slept a peaceful night inside the pillowcases in our laundry tub, and on the way to work, I released it on the edge of a 21,000 acre state preserve, where I believe he will fit right in and live out his days without terrorizing innocent chicken keepers.
I was trying to be rational when I released the snake, to get an accurate, not exaggerated, estimate of its size. I swear at its thickest part it was as big as a paper towel tube and at least 5 ft long. (My hero looks at me with raised eyebrows, but he did not have perspective on the creature, as he was wrassling it and it was coiled around his arms when he last saw it. He does admit it was very strong.)
Sorry - no pictures. We did not have the presence of mind to photograph. But the image of that big snake dangling from the roof of the coop is burned in my memory. I will be checking overhead carefully when I enter for quite some time! I still have the willies! The chickens, however, seem none the worse for the experience.
I actually pick up snakes from precarious situations and relocate them to my house or my parents' farm. My buildings are full of them (so far no problems with the chickens or eggs) but I sure don't have mice in my feed......
