Devastated beyond belief

[Beau plus penny]

Today I went to let our chickens and everything seemed fine. As I was walking away, I noticed that the baby chick being raised by two of our hens was not out with them. This is not typical as it comes out with them every morning. It is a couple of months old. I went back in and searched the coop and could not find it. I looked up onto the wall of my coop and found a rat snake with a bulge. It ate our little baby chick. I am devastated- beyond devastated. It was such a cute, sweet little one. My dad relocated the snake away from our coops (we do not kill snakes and up until now none of them have ever bothered our chickens, only taken eggs). It was definitely got in through the bottom of the door of the coop, as I've seen the snakes escape that way (or try to) after stealing our eggs.

We have never had a snake go after a chick before. I do not know what to do to try and stop this from happening again. Does anyone have suggestions? We are going to fix the gap underneath the door, but I'd love some ideas otherwise if anyone has some.

I am so sad, it's hard to put into words. The hens were calling out for their baby when they went outside. It's awful.

ik its sad but personally i would have humanely killed the snake and cut it up just to see if the chick could still be alive because i know snakes dont chew their food they swallow. but i dont know the exact conditions of your circumstance so what do i know

 

[Elle111]

Yes, that's what I would have attempted, but as you said, you don't know the circumstance. Very sad.

 

[The Moonshiner]

A chick without a doubt would not be alive inside of a snake.
I wouldn't advise cutting one open and hoping for the best because what you're gonna find is a sight you don't want to see.

 

[redinator]

A chick without a doubt would not be alive inside of a snake.
I wouldn't advise cutting one open and hoping for the best because what you're gonna find is a sight you don't want to see.

Not to mention a chick with broken bones, neurological issues; if it was still alive; it would be only barely and it would've suffered longer.

 

[NotabitaiI]

ik its sad but personally i would have humanely killed the snake and cut it up just to see if the chick could still be alive because i know snakes dont chew their food they swallow. but i dont know the exact conditions of your circumstance so what do i know

As someone who owns snakes there's no way it would've been alive, you'd be killing an animal that probably benefits you more alive than dead all for nothing. My colubrids have always bone crushingly constricted their prey, they don't swallow small prey until it's dead (which happens quickly) and then the (once again bone crushing) process of swallowing it begins, that chick was long gone by the time it became a lump in the snake's stomach. Snakes are a long spine packed with muscle, rat snakes in particular are very strong and there's no way the chick suffered for long, that's the only consolation here.
In the future I would advise against suggesting this, it's a rather gross process for nothing but more heartbreak. OP didn't do anything wrong, this is just something that happens when we live among wildlife.

 

[Vulpes vulpes]

ik its sad but personally i would have humanely killed the snake and cut it up just to see if the chick could still be alive because i know snakes dont chew their food they swallow. but i dont know the exact conditions of your circumstance so what do i know

Putting aside the fact that snakes kill their prey before they eat it, needlessly killing and dissecting animals is generally a bad practice. Releasing the snake was the correct response. All one can do is accept that it was a good day for the snake and a bad day for the chick