Got the baby-chick eater!!

[OhZark Biddies]

That's scary! We have a hole like that in a tree in our yard and we occasionally find a shed snake skin in the tree or lying on the ground below the tree. The skin is about 4 feet long. Maybe I should try to scare it out of the hole so my husband can kill it. Our chicks are in a brooder that a snake cannot get into, but obviously when they are bigger they will be moved to a run ...

I'm glad you caught the culprit!

My sister suggested today that if we have a similar situation in the future, to try running a weed eater around the base of the tree. She said the vibration will make the snake come out. Wish I'd thought of that!

You can fill the hole in the tree with expanding foam ( such as “Great Stuff” ) this can help prevent the snake from hanging out in the tree... I’ve done this to an old tree in my yard mostly to prevent it from filling with rain water and rotting out sooner... I painted the foam with a sage colored exterior paint to make it blend in and keep it more water proof...

You can google more about filling tree cavities with expanding foam to get the recommended methods from professional arborist who use this method.