Black Snakes in my chicken coop!!!!!

[Gloryjasmine]

Well.... chicken eggs!

Uhhhh...the point is not to lose any more eggs,though.

I usually have a broody setting. I'm not going to take from her. And,there are many other predators on my land that I don't want to attract. (Bobcat,fox,raccoon,coyote,etc.) Especially near my flock. I don't know how long it would be before another snake tried,and in the meantime the eggs would begin to spoil. I do appreciate your suggestion. Thank you for your time.

 

[SemperChicken]

First time dealing with predators, and I think it's a black snake. There's a tiny slit opening in our TSC coop we have for our baby chicks, about 7 weeks now, and we had come home from a two day trip with one missing. Found a pile of feathers on outside of fence, maybe 5 feet from coop. This was about 1am. Went outside around 8am to check on them and top their feed off... Two more were taken. We found more feathers behind the fence (we have a small ditch that has had debris piled in it over the years from previous homeowners). We went looking for the snake but wasn't able to find anything. I have tacked on some boards to fill the opening.

Sorry about Charlie. I feel your pain. We lost two of the three favorelles we bought just cause they didn't make it from birth. The white cochin was the one first missing when we came home last night, and now our mottled cochin and last favorelles is gone. Very sad. Not sure what else I can do to try and find the snake so I can destroy it.

 

[SemperChicken]

What do black snakes do during the day? Is it worth my while to go poking around the debris to see if he's nesting there? Just curious... Don't want to lose another one.

 

[aart]

I don't think snakes leave piles of feathers, they either swallow the chick whole, or try to and regurgitate the whole thing if they can't get it down.

First time dealing with predators, and I think it's a black snake. There's a tiny slit opening in our TSC coop we have for our baby chicks, about 7 weeks now, and we had come home from a two day trip with one missing. Found a pile of feathers on outside of fence, maybe 5 feet from coop. This was about 1am. Went outside around 8am to check on them and top their feed off... Two more were taken. We found more feathers behind the fence (we have a small ditch that has had debris piled in it over the years from previous homeowners). We went looking for the snake but wasn't able to find anything. I have tacked on some boards to fill the opening.

Sorry about Charlie. I feel your pain. We lost two of the three favorelles we bought just cause they didn't make it from birth. The white cochin was the one first missing when we came home last night, and now our mottled cochin and last favorelles is gone. Very sad. Not sure what else I can do to try and find the snake so I can destroy it.

What do black snakes do during the day? Is it worth my while to go poking around the debris to see if he's nesting there? Just curious... Don't want to lose another one.

 

[SemperChicken]

That's what my wife was saying, but what other predator can fit thru a 1" opening? About 2.5 feet across? Not to mention the 7 week old chicks were pulled thru this... There's no other opening in the coop. It's a cheap little TSC coop, but none of the wire is altered like it was chewed thru either.

There's a bunch of down feathers near the opening of the coop, and two distinct and neat piles of feathers outside the fence of our backyard.

 

[ChickensAreSweet]

That's what my wife was saying, but what other predator can fit thru a 1" opening? About 2.5 feet across? Not to mention the 7 week old chicks were pulled thru this... There's no other opening in the coop. It's a cheap little TSC coop, but none of the wire is altered like it was chewed thru either.

There's a bunch of down feathers near the opening of the coop, and two distinct and neat piles of feathers outside the fence of our backyard.

1" opening: rats and weasels - you have to have 1/2 inch opening to keep them out.

 

[aart]

That's what my wife was saying, but what other predator can fit thru a 1" opening? About 2.5 feet across? Not to mention the 7 week old chicks were pulled thru this... There's no other opening in the coop. It's a cheap little TSC coop, but none of the wire is altered like it was chewed thru either.

There's a bunch of down feathers near the opening of the coop, and two distinct and neat piles of feathers outside the fence of our backyard.

Weasels. Rats.
Raccoons could reach thru that and drag a chick out.

ETA: Is the nest box latched securely?

 

[SemperChicken]

Don't give me flak for this, but the nest box lid doesn't have a latch at all. What's the likelihood that a racoon can figure out how to hold the lid while grabbing a chick? Maybe I'm just being naive... But I did think about that. It didn't come with a latch and I just never thought about predators as much. Also, that lid is heavy... I just never thought a coon would be able to lift it.

As for weasels, the thing with my situation is that one of eight went missing. Then this morning two more got taken away. As we were digging thru the debris in the backyard, we found the mottled cochin's pile of feathers. Just a neat little pile of like 8 feathers. Same thing with the white cochin. No body, no extreme amount of feathers in coop building, no blood.

 

[ChickensAreSweet]

Don't give me flak for this, but the nest box lid doesn't have a latch at all. What's the likelihood that a racoon can figure out how to hold the lid while grabbing a chick? Maybe I'm just being naive... But I did think about that. It didn't come with a latch and I just never thought about predators as much. Also, that lid is heavy... I just never thought a coon would be able to lift it.

As for weasels, the thing with my situation is that one of eight went missing. Then this morning two more got taken away. As we were digging thru the debris in the backyard, we found the mottled cochin's pile of feathers. Just a neat little pile of like 8 feathers. Same thing with the white cochin. No body, no extreme amount of feathers in coop building, no blood.

I have had a raccoon move a concrete block to access a door and get in to kill my chicken. It definitely could be a racoon. They say if a toddler can open it, a raccoon can.

see at about 9:30 minutes/seconds into the video the coon lifts the garage door o_0

 

[SemperChicken]

Wow. Very well. Now, would he want to just be taking one at a time? Don't they normally kill multiple?