California king snake

[Susan55]

I have five 6 week old chicks in a chicken coop/run inside my goat yard. The chicks are locked inside the coop with a brooder plate at night. This evening I came across a king snake in my yard. It was only 2 to 3 feet long. My dog started to go after it, but I called him off because I know that king snakes are hugely beneficial especially living in rattle snake territory. I’m not concerned about the baby chicks for tonight because they are secure inside their coop, but I want to know if I should be concerned about letting them out into the run in the morning. Google says that a king snake will kill baby chicks, but what are the opinions on that? I don’t always believe Google, but I’m afraid not to. I’ll also add that I have a rooster that lives in the goat yard. He doesn’t have access to the chicks though.

 

[Susan55]

I have five 6 week old chicks in a chicken coop/run inside my goat yard. The chicks are locked inside the coop with a brooder plate at night. This evening I came across a king snake in my yard. It was only 2 to 3 feet long. My dog started to go after it, but I called him off because I know that king snakes are hugely beneficial especially living in rattle snake territory. I’m not concerned about the baby chicks for tonight because they are secure inside their coop, but I want to know if I should be concerned about letting them out into the run in the morning. Google says that a king snake will kill baby chicks, but what are the opinions on that? I don’t always believe Google, but I’m afraid not to. I’ll also add that I have a rooster that lives in the goat yard. He doesn’t have access to the chicks though.

The king snake was inside my front yard, not in the goat yard.

 

[TwoCrows]

Yes King Snakes will eat baby chicks. Use hardware cloth on all external areas of the coop and run. 1/2 inch hardware cloth keeps out bigger snakes, if you live in an area with rattlesnakes you might use 1/4 inch hardware cloth along the lower 3 feet of the run to keep out baby rattlers. Secure up any holes or spots where anything can dig, slither under or climb through.

 

[Bird2break]

I have five 6 week old chicks in a chicken coop/run inside my goat yard. The chicks are locked inside the coop with a brooder plate at night. This evening I came across a king snake in my yard. It was only 2 to 3 feet long. My dog started to go after it, but I called him off because I know that king snakes are hugely beneficial especially living in rattle snake territory. I’m not concerned about the baby chicks for tonight because they are secure inside their coop, but I want to know if I should be concerned about letting them out into the run in the morning. Google says that a king snake will kill baby chicks, but what are the opinions on that? I don’t always believe Google, but I’m afraid not to. I’ll also add that I have a rooster that lives in the goat yard. He doesn’t have access to the chicks though.

It may sound cruel, but I’ve had great success with putting a golf ball in each of my nest boxes and invariably the snake eats it. The snake can’t pass the ball and goes off somewhere to die. We eliminated 7 snakes from our coop in the past 3 months! Also, this method allows you to see if a snake has been there if the golf ball is missing from the nest box.