got my chicks today.. and now they are dead.. GRAPHIC PICTURES

[WisconsinChick]

Quote:
She beat it to death then cut it open.

 

[sred98]

It actually looks like a gopher/bull snake. They get pretty big (around 6 ft.) and can be aggressive. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gopher_snake We had one as a pet, til the cat got it, and they are native. Not sure where you are, but they are all over. It is kind of rare to actually see one, though, since they keep to themselves. They look a lot like rattlers, at first!

Sorry to hear about your chicks. That is so disheartening.

You did what you had to do, and that is all you can do. Good luck with the rest of them!

Sred

 

[dacjohns]

Could be sred. I didn't look closely and I have rat snake on the mind after my latest encounters.

 

[okiemommy]

It looks like a bull snake to me as well. I am very sorry about your chicks!

oh and I probably would have beat it to death too...even knowing that they have their place in nature too.

 

[PurpleChicken]

We had a snake get into the chickens run. Poor poor snake. The hens thoroughly
enjoyed that meal. It was only 2 feet long and didn't stand a chance.

 

[carwinew]

You asked if it would get bigger chicks. I don't think it will as we had a 5' long rat/bull/chicken snake find a nest and eat 2 eggs before we relocated him to the front of our property. There were bantys and 5 month old chicks in the area and he only went after the eggs. He came back again and I relocated him to the other side of the railroad tracks. He hasn't come back this time.

 

[Wildsky]

This is the last bull snake that visited our house............ I caught and released him.

 

[augiedranch]

Quote:
thats a pretty snake. i dont think this one was a bull snake.. i dont know maybe could have been. it was aggressive though. and it was the same one i relocated 3 months ago. just came back bigger.. i think there are more though..

well, his head and body really looked like a rattle snake. they are common in tx where i live. and rat snake even shake their tail to act like a rattler.. i thought it was a rattle snake until after everything was done.... i didnt realize it bit me until after the fact.

 

[augiedranch]

someone asked too see some pics. ill post some as soon as i can.

the brooder was inside a small barn like coop with a heating lamp. all it was , was a huge dog kennel for xlarge dogs, covered in chicken wire...... it worked alot of times before.. but i guess that snake was already in there when i put the cute lil baby chicks in their.. im guessing moth balls dont really work.. cuz they were in there..


thanks for everyones help. i made a new coop of hardware wire. and i this whole thing is still bothering me. i am saddened about the loss of the babies, and also,, worried this might happen again,, and i dont want to get bit again.. but yet, i wish everyone and everything could live in peace so nobody gets hurt..

 

[Hiedi]

I am sorry about your loss, so sad. Thank you for starting this thread. It is good information for the rest of us. It makes me realize how diligent I need to be about protecting my chicks from predators.