Black snake killed 3 of my 6 week old chicks.

[Jamesthesilkie]

Heartbroken to say the least. I had an alert at around 11pm yesterday of motion in my coop. I run over and 3 of my chicks are dead! A black snake killed them. I am feeling very guilty, as I just moved them out of their smaller brooder wrapped in hardware cloth into a dog cage. My coop is over 50 years old, many gaps for a snake or mouse to get in. I've wrapped what I can in bird netting to prevent another entry, and also will be keeping the remaining birds in a safe place. If I had the money the entire coop would be covered in hardware cloth, but that is not an option at the moment.

Has this happened to anyone else? I feel sick to my stomach all day now. I felt like I failed them. Losing 3 at a time just hurts my heart. My coop is safe from any predators except snakes and weasels.

 

[SilverBirds]

So sorry for your losses. I had snake kill one of my chicks yesterday afternoon. I was pretty shocked, snakes were not on my radar as a threat to my 11 week old chicks. I'm now watching the coop cam like a hawk waiting for to see if he returns.

 

[Jamesthesilkie]

So sorry for your losses. I had snake kill one of my chicks yesterday afternoon. I was pretty shocked, snakes were not on my radar as a threat to my 11 week old chicks. I'm now watching the coop cam like a hawk waiting for him to return so I can dispatch him.

Thank you, I'm sorry for your loss too. I am very surprised it would go after an 11 week old as well! I hope you can get him. I was able to get mine thankfully, but I'm sure there are more around

 

[scyllarus]

I have a pet bullsnake, and we keep quail. When we had a neighbor's kid do some bird-sitting, she let the snake escape (this was somewhat our fault - the snake's enclosure had a weird locking mechanism that she didn't really understand and she had permission to play with the snake) and he killed and attempted to eat one of the quail we had been nursing back to health. He ended up regurgitating the quail because he just wasn't able to swallow past the shoulders - this is a 5-6 ft long snake, btw. We were pretty devastated because the quail he had killed had been a bit of a survivor...and also because we weren't sure if we had also lost the snake (we did find him a couple of weeks later). It's not exactly the same situation, but I'm sorry that you've lost chicks :c

I'd recommend elevating your brooders if you can. Snakes are surprisingly good climbers, but they're not magic and they have trouble climbing smooth surfaces. I think certain smells can be deterrents as well? A quick search found this page, which links to an old study: https://pestpointers.com/smells-that-snakes-hate-and-how-to-use-them/#The 2 Scents That Snakes Hate

 

[Jamesthesilkie]

I have a pet bullsnake, and we keep quail. When we had a neighbor's kid do some bird-sitting, she let the snake escape (this was somewhat our fault - the snake's enclosure had a weird locking mechanism that she didn't really understand) and he killed and attempted to eat one of the quail we had been nursing back to health. He ended up regurgitating the quail because he just wasn't able to swallow past the shoulders - this is a 5-6 ft long snake, btw. We were pretty devastated because the quail he had killed had been a bit of a survivor...and also because we weren't sure if we had also lost the snake (we did find him a couple of weeks later). It's not exactly the same situation, but I'm sorry that you've lost chicks :c

I'd recommend elevating your brooders if you can. Snakes are surprisingly good climbers, but they're not magic and they have trouble climbing smooth surfaces. I think certain smells can be deterrents as well? A quick search found this page, which links to an old study: https://pestpointers.com/smells-that-snakes-hate-and-how-to-use-them/#The 2 Scents That Snakes Hate

That must have been Awful. Yea this one couldn't eat them it seems like, he was just killing them. Thank you for that info. I am keeping them in a fort Knox brooder for the next month at least, but will allow them to explore while I'm around.

 

[scyllarus]

That must have been Awful. Yea this one couldn't eat them it seems like, he was just killing them. Thank you for that info. I am keeping them in a fort Knox brooder for the next month at least, but will allow them to explore while I'm around.

Ugh, it almost feels worse when the predator doesn't even eat the chicken :/ At least it does to me. If you're able to keep an eye on them and one does get snatched by a snake, water on the face/head will usually get them to let go - and if doesn't work, some reptile keepers recommend using alcohol (like vodka). The vast majority of snakes in the southeast are nonvenomous - and frankly, venomous snakes do not wrap prey, they bite and then go seek out the dead or dying animal after - so you should be okay if you need to rescue a chick.

 

[Jamesthesilkie]

Ugh, it almost feels worse when the predator doesn't even eat the chicken :/ At least it does to me. If you're able to keep an eye on them and one does get snatched by a snake, water will usually get them to let go - and if doesn't work, some reptile keepers recommend using alcohol (like vodka). The vast majority of snakes in the southeast are nonvenomous - and frankly, venomous snakes do not wrap prey, they bite and then go seek out the dead or dying animal after - so you should be okay if you need to rescue a chick.

Yes I totally agree. Wouldn't be so upset if he just ate one! I just put cinnamon around the coop. Hopefully that helps, and that is good to know. I ran up to him and beat him with a flip flop last night lol

 

[scyllarus]

Haha! Snakes are reasonably afraid of us - I mean, if a giant hairless primate ran at me with a flipflop bigger than my body, I'd probably book it for the hills. It's just a pity they don't seem to be able to realize that something is too big to eat. Fingers crossed that he decides that his newest hunting grounds are too dangerous and not rewarding enough to stick around.

 

[Jamesthesilkie]

Haha! Snakes are reasonably afraid of us - I mean, if a giant hairless primate ran at me with a flipflop bigger than my body, I'd probably book it for the hills. It's just a pity they don't seem to be able to realize that something is too big to eat. Fingers crossed that he decides that his newest hunting grounds are too dangerous and not rewarding enough to stick around.

He has gone to heaven, hopefully the next one has an eye for the occasional egg and not my chickens, as I do appreciate the rodent control provided

 

[Al Gerhart]

Ditto on the rodent control. Wild predators like snakes and raptors have limits on their numbers from the amount of prey species their territory will maintain during dry spells, winter, and other natural factors. They get out of control, as do wild birds and rodents, when humans set up buffets for them. The prey species the predators feed on have to hustle hard to survive much less raise young as natural foods are scarce and they have to fight to maintain their territory/food supply.

Control the feed, and you control a lot of problems that come with raising chickens.