FLORIDA!!!!!ALWAYS SUNNY SIDE UP!!!

[BlueChick62]

Would the SIZE/AGE of the chicks deter a snake? My chicks are 4.5 weeks old… are still in the house… hope to move them outside this evening when things cool off a bit and I can prep the coop.

 

[cmom]

Dunnellon Tractor Supply Company Farm Swap Saturday June 14th, 11252 N Williams St, Dunnellon, FL 34432. (On the 2nd Saturday Monthly). If you are just thinking about chickens or small livestock or already have an established flock or small holding, then you won't want to miss this event. Come join us for a day of talking, swapping and selling poultry and small livestock. Meet the locals. Swap stories and information on the care and raising of your flock and small holdings. Buy/Sell/Trade anything and everything to do with poultry and small livestock. We usually have various breeds and ages of poultry, rabbits, goats and sometimes piglets. Hoping this Spring is finding you hatching lots of chicks. But now that you are hatching, what are you going to do with all of them? You pick out the best to keep for your own personal stock, you might sell a few to neighbors for their own flocks but that still leaves you with lots of extra chicks. Maybe this Spring is giving you baby bunnies or goat kids, or maybe even an extra calf or two. Maybe you have eating eggs or hatching eggs to sell. How about some pieces of old farm equipment, a small tractor, harrow or what have you. Maybe you have fresh fruits and vegetables or maybe plants and trees. What are you going to do? Bring it on down to the Dunnellon Tractor Supply Company Farm Swap Farm Swap. Great exposure, lots of parking, lots of potential buyers. Again, the Dunnellon Tractor Supply Company Farm Swap Farm Swap runs the 2nd Saturday of every month from 9am usually around 2pm. This is a farm swap only so we ask that there are no flea market or garage sale items. You can also bring farm related craft type items like goat soaps and lotions. Tell your neighbors, tell your friends, heck we don’t care if you tell your enemies. Meet us the Dunnellon Tractor Supply Company Farm Swap Farm Swap for a beautiful day of buying, selling or swapping your farm related wares. For more info contact Joan 352-216-4225

 

[delder2009]

Oh! I am so sorry! I'm planing on putting my chicks, also bantam cochin, out n the coop for the first time tonight. I have 1/2" hardware cloth, too! Was your brooder up high? I'm wondering about nailing some flashing "L" around the posts on the coop…

I have them in a large plastic dog crate with and opening covered with the 1/2 inch hardware. There is two openings toreds the top and the door. And it was up on my desk in my art room in the garage. I have sence move it to my front porch which is sceaned in and one of my retired hunting dog's that will kill any snake that comes to close. She is the only one that will mess with a snake. All my othere dog's have learned to stay away from snakes because of all the poisonous one lovely Florida has. The chicks were between 1and 2 weeks old. I know that snakes dislocat their jaw to eat but one of the chicks it eat was as big as my hand and the snakes head was smaller then my ring finger

 

[delder2009]

I feel so bad for lucky she had to watch all here siblings get killed and now she is all by her self. I have put a stuffed animal in with her and when I'm out in the yard she is tucked in my top with her head poking out. I have cleaned the brooder box to try and get any smell of the snake out but when I have to puther back in it she runs to the door and cries. The stuffed animal seems to of helped but I feel so badly about it. I could just imagine what's going though her head.

 

[abserbean]

Poor chick! What kind of snake was it? We have been seeing several black snakes around. One got into our house last week, we had a time catching it, It was probably 3 feet long!

 

[delder2009]

Poor chick! What kind of snake was it? We have been seeing several black snakes around. One got into our house last week, we had a time catching it, It was probably 3 feet long!

it looked to be a corn rat snake mix about 2 1/2 foot long. We have 2 common black snakes, a 6+ foot indigo and a coach whip on the property so I have been keeping my eye out for them. The neighbors have killed 4 5+foot rattle snake in the last month.

 

[abserbean]

This year seems to be busy for snakes, at least here. Just in the past week, we've seen two black racers, two garter snakes and a corn snake in our yard. Thankfully no rattlers though! I've heard the black racers can be a problem with chickens, but so far we haven't had any issues. Good luck with your chick, maybe you can get it a friend?

 

[BlueChick62]

...

I feel so bad for lucky she had to watch all here siblings get killed and now she is all by her self. I have put a stuffed animal in with her and when I'm out in the yard she is tucked in my top with her head poking out. I have cleaned the brooder box to try and get any smell of the snake out but when I have to puther back in it she runs to the door and cries. The stuffed animal seems to of helped but I feel so badly about it. I could just imagine what's going though her head.

She definitely needs a companion…it's crazy how attached we get to these little birds… I hope you're able to find a solution for the snake problem.

 

[Coralee]

I'm up here just across the FL/GA in Kingsland, but I still have a place in Florida. I use regular window screen over the hardware cloth to keep critters away from my Bantam Cochins chicks. They are so tiny! Even a small snake can get them, because snakes can expand their jaws. Chemicals don't work, because whatever you try will wash away in the summer season rain.

Here's a couple of my young men.

They hatched during the "polar vortex" on January 15, and are hen hatched & raised. Back in January snakes are not a problem, but this time of year I use window screen over the hardware cloth. It is sold by the roll at your local hardware store.

 

[Runawaylobster]

This year seems to be busy for snakes, at least here. Just in the past week, we've seen two black racers, two garter snakes and a corn snake in our yard. Thankfully no rattlers though! I've heard the black racers can be a problem with chickens, but so far we haven't had any issues. Good luck with your chick, maybe you can get it a friend?

Ditto: I found a black racer in the swimming pool last thursday, and a juvenile black racer sitting right on my gatepost. I had the chicks in a 1/2" hardwire cloth
pen outside and after reading this thread i brought it back into the patio (a thing i swore i would never do again).

I have about 4 male blue wheaten ams that are chicks that i will give for free if anyone is interested in picking them up. They are one week old right now, i am
waiting until i can sex them for a customer.

the rest are Black Copper Marans that are special for my breeding plan. NO darned snake had better get those!!!!!