Help, Scared to Death!!! No eggs...

[2txmedics]

I went out to the coop about a week ago, and I was getting ready to go into a coop, I saw something to the side of the run...I looked and thought it was a lizard, turned out to be a Snake...it was about 2 1/2' long...I of course had finshed with all the coops and I went in the house shaking. Let me say I can not see them in movies, pictures, magazines of any kind...everyone around the house only uses the "S word"...not the actual work. As thats how scared I am, it freaks me out. I have these horrible dreams once I see them.

So Honey of course was at work on a 24hr shift....comes home the next to look for me, nothing GONE....then I got to thinking, I thought my hens were molting as I see alot of feathers all over the yard, and runs...I have 4 coops....then I noticed that in my main coop I have 3-4 hens with red combs/wattles. So they should be laying....right?

Well here we are going on 3 wks and no eggs, from the main coop...the other coops lay. Then a few days ago I went to the main coop again, and I opened the side door to see the nest boxes, and low and behold....there is a "S word"...small one not the one I saw, of course honey is at work on a 24hr shift AGAIN!!!! I was told you have to find it and try and kill it, ....or you will never know where it is...so I tried with hands shaking, body shaking...I got a hoe and I started to hit it against the coop, NOTHING CAME OUT...next day honey came and looked everywhere, couldnt find anything again!!!!

SO NO EGGS NOW FOR 3WKS IN THE MAIN COOP....honey as looked all over the yard around the coops...today only found the skin.....

is there anyway to keep them out of the coops??? Please any ideas??? I do have a large EE Roo....does he protect the hens from them??? Im scared to death that while they sleep, they will get swallowed~~does this happen?

 

[mgibbzzz]

You need to kill it or find someone that will catch it and move it to another location. If not you won't have any eggs. I have never seen a small snake attack a full size bird, but it may a chick. I know that my girls and roo will kill it if they see it, but a friend's chickens would just stand back and watch it eat their eggs from a distance. If nothing else, toss a bucket over it until "Honey' comes home.

 

[MMPoultryFarms]

take 2-3 inch pvc pipe cut it off in sections about 2 feet long Buy some mouse glue traps rollthem sothey fit inside the pvc pipe push them way inside and place them along the base boards of your coops. and tops of your nest boxes. (make sure you have the traps pushed well inside the pvc so a chicken doesnt poke a head in there and get stuck.) then just grab the snake when its caught dispose of it and place a new trap inside.

 

[2txmedics]

Wow!!! Thats a pretty good Idea!!! How did you come up with that one? I still have no eggs....

and I have 14 hens in that coop....I go and look in the mornings, I look mid day and then at about 7pm also...NOTHING! and I have 4 hens, I counted that are deep red in wattles and combs.

 

[darkmatter]

Blow out an egg and fill with salt, leave in nest boxes. It targets only the problem snake and will kill it. If you have never blown out an egg before-----poke a small hole in the large end of the egg, insert a broom straw and twirl to mix contents, insert a drink style straw and blow out the contents, fill with salt and place a small piece of tape over the hole. (or glue a piece of parchment according to "Grandma")
The snake swallows the egg whole and when it breaks the egg internally, the salt causes a blood salt imbalance and kills by heart attack.

 

[MMPoultryFarms]

Quote:
I deal with alot of predators out here you learn alot of nifty ways to capture them. Me personally I let rat snakes go back out in my pastures. But if your hens were laying and just stopped it could be because there molting. could be they have mites,lice, or worms, Could be there getting sick. If your pullets havent started laying but your judging from color of combs waddles ect. then i would say its still to early yet. took my girls little over 8 months to start laying due to all the foul weather we had over the summer.

 

[Yay Chicks!]

How old are the birds in question?