I just moved from town out to the country and have a coop and run setup next to the woods. My first day there, one of my hen's fertile eggs went missing! No sign at all of what took it! The second day, another fertile egg went missing! However, the non-fertile eggs (that the others were laying each day) were still there. Hens didn't seem upset, everyone looked normal.
A few days later (today), fertile eggs started hatching. One of the eggs had pipped and I could hear the baby chick inside. I went into the house and an hour later, came back to check. A black snake was in the coop and that pipped egg was gone! We killed the snake and retrieved the egg out of it, but the baby was dead.
I have a few more eggs under another hen getting ready to hatch. How is it that the snake knows which eggs are fertile, and does he purposely eat those? Or, is he just interested in warm eggs maybe?
I don't know if we have anymore black snakes, but we're moving the broodie hens to more secure coops right now. And, we're going to buy moth balls and snake repel later on. What else can I do to keep the eggs safe, and does anyone know if the snake would go after a baby chick?
Thanks!
A few days later (today), fertile eggs started hatching. One of the eggs had pipped and I could hear the baby chick inside. I went into the house and an hour later, came back to check. A black snake was in the coop and that pipped egg was gone! We killed the snake and retrieved the egg out of it, but the baby was dead.
I have a few more eggs under another hen getting ready to hatch. How is it that the snake knows which eggs are fertile, and does he purposely eat those? Or, is he just interested in warm eggs maybe?
I don't know if we have anymore black snakes, but we're moving the broodie hens to more secure coops right now. And, we're going to buy moth balls and snake repel later on. What else can I do to keep the eggs safe, and does anyone know if the snake would go after a baby chick?
Thanks!