Black Snake in Chicken Coop - Advice Please!!!

[Kuntry Klucker]

Hi All,

Well I went out to collect eggs today, apparently I was not the only one who had egg collection on the agenda.

There is a medium sized king snake that was hiding under the nest box, I moved the nest box and tried to get the snake out
but it buried its self under the shavings. Now I am not sure how to get it out.

I am 99% sure that it is a king snake. According to my research they are non-venamous, and one of the
good guys. They eat Copper Heads which we also have an abundance of around here. Now I am not afraid of snake
per say especially when I know what they are. But I do respect them and use caution.

My main question here is, should I just let it be? I know he is probably doing more good than harm. I will just
make sure that I collect eggs more often to make sure I get my share of the eggs and not the snake.

I do not have any chicks, just adult birds.

Advice please, thanks in advance!

 

[GitaBooks]

If it is large and black, it is likely a Black Rat Snake. They are very handsome and useful (I own a domesticated Red Rat snake as a pet), but they are also dangerous to adult birds and will eat eggs. They have a vicious bite and will musk if grabbed (STINKS REALLY TERRIBLE!) so try using a hook to carefully lift it and set it in a sac of some kind. Then bring it far from your coop and release it. Hopefully it won't return.

Best of luck!

 

[Kuntry Klucker]

If it is large and black, it is likely a Black Rat Snake. They are very handsome and useful (I own a domesticated Red Rat snake as a pet), but they are also dangerous to adult birds and will eat eggs. They have a vicious bite and will musk if grabbed (STINKS REALLY TERRIBLE!) so try using a hook to carefully lift it and set it in a sac of some kind. Then bring it far from your coop and release it. Hopefully it won't return.

Best of luck!

yikes!! ok, I am not sure how to get it out now. After I moved the nesting box and tried to get it with a pitch fork in ran to the other side of the coop and buried its self under the shavings. I hate that it will hurt the adult birds but man how do I get it if it has buried itself?

Is there a change that now that I have disturbed it that it will realize that it is not a good place to hang out and move on?

 

[GitaBooks]

It could, but snakes will return if they think it is a good food source. If its small you could try picking it up with a glove, but they have an incredibly long strike, so take care. If you carefully pin their heads with a stick you can lift it by firmly but carefully gripping it behind the head and then grabbing the middle of the body for support. They will twist, musk (STINKY!) and they are very strong, so hurry to get it in the sack.
Could you try uncovering it with something?

 

[Kuntry Klucker]

It could, but snakes will return if they think it is a good food source. If its small you could try picking it up with a glove, but they have an incredibly long strike, so take care. If you carefully pin their heads with a stick you can lift it by firmly but carefully gripping it behind the head and then grabbing the middle of the body for support. They will twist, musk (STINKY!) and they are very strong, so hurry to get it in the sack.
Could you try uncovering it with something?

great, this is going to be harder than I thought. Not sure if I am equipped to handle the snake safely. Calling an exterminator
out to get a snake out of the coop is really not an option either.

How much harm would it do to just let it be? That might be the safest strategy. I will just collect eggs more often
to detour the food stability. Fall and Winter is coming, so this is temporary situation. I clean the coop well in the fall
before winter so all will be cleaned out anyway, including the snake.

 

[GitaBooks]

Just make sure it doesn't kill your chickens and it should be fine. I had a skunk in my barn for over a year. This year it began eating more chicken food and nearly all the eggs and I trapped and relocated it. As long as the snake doesn't cause a problem then you can let it be.

 

[torilovessmiles]

Black Rat snakes aren't dangerous to Standard Sized adult birds, but they are to bantams. Seal any cracks in the coop to keep them out of eggs and replace chicken wire (if you have it) on the coop with 1 cm or smaller hardware cloth.

 

[Kuntry Klucker]

Ok, I went out this evening and looked for the snake again. I stirred the bedding pretty good and never saw him emerge.
I checked the coop well and did not see him hiding under anything. Is it possible that he wondered off?

I need to lock up the girls tonight and am wondering if I should.

 

[torilovessmiles]

Ok, I went out this evening and looked for the snake again. I stirred the bedding pretty good and never saw him emerge.
I checked the coop well and did not see him hiding under anything. Is it possible that he wondered off?

I need to lock up the girls tonight and am wondering if I should.

Very possible he wondered off. A chicken coop isn't the ideal snake house. Chickens can easily peck a single snake to death, so snakes will sneak in during the day to grab an egg and escape before he is discovered by the chickens. In a few days, when he get's hungry again, he'll snag another egg and retreat to his hiding spot. I'll bet he's under another building on your property nearby.

Black snakes, in my opinion, don't hurt too awful bad if you get bit by them, but it doesn't feel good. They're not too aggressive! We've always either grabbed the tail and used a stick to keep the head out of striking distance, or pin them down and grab the head. It depends on what angle you can get them at.

My dad use to catch wild rattlesnakes and sell the skins, and taught me how to catch non-poisonous snakes. I could probably identify just about every snake in my state at this point!

 

[Kuntry Klucker]

Very possible he wondered off. A chicken coop isn't the ideal snake house. Chickens can easily peck a single snake to death, so snakes will sneak in during the day to grab an egg and escape before he is discovered by the chickens. In a few days, when he get's hungry again, he'll snag another egg and retreat to his hiding spot. I'll bet he's under another building on your property nearby.

Black snakes, in my opinion, don't hurt too awful bad if you get bit by them, but it doesn't feel good. They're not too aggressive! We've always either grabbed the tail and used a stick to keep the head out of striking distance, or pin them down and grab the head. It depends on what angle you can get them at.

My dad use to catch wild rattlesnakes and sell the skins, and taught me how to catch non-poisonous snakes. I could probably identify just about every snake in my state at this point!

Hmmm... Ok, so he comes gets an egg or two than darts off. I guess hanging in the coop would not be the best place for a snake.

We mowed the backyard tonight so hopefully that chased him off. We don't have any other buildings near the coop that he could hide under.
There are gardens that he could probably tuck away in, but the chickens are in those too. Maybe he just got the idea and got while the getting was good.

I locked up the girls tonight, I hope that it is not in there, if it is then the girls will have fresh meat for breakfast in the morning.