Help! A Black Snake keeps eating my eggs!

[Abriana]

I would personally kill the snake. Obviously he is being a pest, by eating your chicks, and he really doesn't serve a purpose in the coop while the chicks will when they grow up. If you don't want to kill him, remove him from the coop and relocate him somewhere in the woods where he won't be able to find his way back.

 

[Abriana]

Just saw on another thread that minnow traps, very cheap, can buy them at Walmart, catch snakes very effectively. This person caught a black snake one day, a copperhead another, and then a rat snake. If you don't want to touch him, a trap would help so that you just carry it to where you want to dump him, and release.

 

[getaclue]

I use mothballs around my coop. I read where a member said it didn't work for them, but it has always worked for me. I started using them when I found a black snake in my coop. I put on surgical type gloves, and place them around the coop/run, just out of the reach of the chickens. I don't put a ton of them, but I don't stint either. I put them about 6 - 8 inches apart. Depending on the weather, I usually need to do this about once a month in the summer, and less often in the winter.

 

[Splinter022]

I use mothballs around my coop. I read where a member said it didn't work for them, but it has always worked for me. I started using them when I found a black snake in my coop. I put on surgical type gloves, and place them around the coop/run, just out of the reach of the chickens. I don't put a ton of them, but I don't stint either. I put them about 6 - 8 inches apart. Depending on the weather, I usually need to do this about once a month in the summer, and less often in the winter.

I heard they were toxic, excpecially for my girls. (And rooster). Could I put some in a container with holes or something? Also, if the snakes in the coop, will he be stuck?
Thanks for all the help!

 

[getaclue]

When I said "around" my coop, I meant on the OUTSIDE, where the chickens can't get to them. You might want to check to make sure the snake isn't in the coop before putting the moth balls out.

 

[Mrs. Light Sussex]

The best way to get rid of the snake is put out some hard boiled eggs, it will choke trying to swallow it.

 

[smoothmule]

He is Not harmless. He is a killer. I carried one off and it came back. Took me months to catch him and he was so big (over 7 foot) he was killing my hens too. All the eggs, all the chicks that hatched and a fair number of hens..... I bought one of those snake catchers off ebay, the type they use in rattlesnake round ups. I went out at least once a night after dark and flipped lights on in the barn...took 3 months to catch him and the figth was on. Too heavy to pick up, I dragged him out of one of the pens, through the barn, accross the back yard in the dark to the house and banged on a window till my husband came out. He's far more afraid of snakes than I am....and I usually try catch and haul off but this one had to die. My husband whacked his head off and I dragged him to the pond, he was a good source of food for the catfish.

 

[Splinter022]

When I said "around" my coop, I meant on the OUTSIDE, where the chickens can't get to them. You might want to check to make sure the snake isn't in the coop before putting the moth balls out.

Yeah, but the only problem is that my hens fly over the fencing. (They have a lot of room, so they're not cramped or anything.) I just don't want anything to happen. And I'm not killing the snake. I'm going to catch him, (hopefully in a 100% humane way) and let him go a mile or two from our house.

Thanks guys for all the help!

I would personally kill the snake. Obviously he is being a pest, by eating your chicks, and he really doesn't serve a purpose in the coop while the chicks will when they grow up. If you don't want to kill him, remove him from the coop and relocate him somewhere in the woods where he won't be able to find his way back.

When I said "around" my coop, I meant on the OUTSIDE, where the chickens can't get to them. You might want to check to make sure the snake isn't in the coop before putting the moth balls out.

Yeah, but the only problem is that my hens fly over the fence. (They have a pretty large area to roam, so they're not cramped or anything). Hopefully I would be able to catch and release him humanely. I'm planning on releasing two or three miles away to be extra safe.

Thanks guys for all the help!

 

[chickengeorgeto]

Yeah, but the only problem is that my hens fly over the fencing. (They have a lot of room, so they're not cramped or anything.) I just don't want anything to happen. And I'm not killing the snake. I'm going to catch him, (hopefully in a 100% humane way) and let him go a mile or two from our house.

Thanks guys for all the help! ...... I'm planning on releasing two or three miles away to be extra safe.....

Just so you can release your snake an extra, extra, extra, safe distance from your chickens, scientific studies on Burmese rock pythons in the state of Florida have proven that those bad boys can quickly return from release distances of 125 miles. So when you release your chick killing snake you should first make sure that you have a full tank of gas BEFORE you hit the road. I hope that this helps.

 

[centrarchid]

I think we are getting a little out of hand on this. Talk to your local wildlife official and see what your relocation options are. I know they snakes can navigate home after a couple hundred yard displacement but odds are the native north American species will not be able to many miles, especially if you live in a topographically complex landscape with waterways to cross.