Banty Cochin Shadow was out with her three one-week-old chicks, scratching around Suede's pen. I did some chores, then noticed she had taken them around to the Delawares side of the breeding coop and knowing there was a chick-sized gap under their gate, thought I should herd her and the babies all the way around and back to the main yard. We are walking slowly around, my DH comes up and I tell him they were close to getting into the Del pen, and I look just past him and see a four foot rat snake! It's just quietly sitting, maybe waiting for those tasty morsels to get close enough. DH grabs it by the tail and says, "Where do you want it?". I tell him to throw it across the powerline easement road on the other side of the property. I am so glad I saw that! I'd have hated to see it a few minutes later with a chick in its mouth! Wonder what Shadow would have done if she'd seen it.
