Hen died from eating snake?

[Embuck]

My aunt had two chickens, one of which are three small snakes and died not long afterwards. I thought that she might have gotten an impacted or overfilled crop. Or had trouble digesting the snakes. Does that seem reasonable? Has anyone else had chickens eat snakes?

 

[azygous]

Likely your guess is the right one - impacted crop. There are hens that eat more than they can handle.

Does make a grand story to tell the kids at family gatherings.

 

[micstrachan]

Yes, my Plymouth Barred Rock loves snakes. I’ve only seen her eat little ones, however.

 

[CntryBoy777]

It depends on what kind of snake it/they might have been...if they were poisonous, then she may have gotten bit before or during her eating them. A poisonous snake is just as potent as an adult and is a bit more dangerous, because they lack the control of the poison gland and will inject more poison than is needed in defense eventho their fangs are much smaller. Many think wrongly that their poison is more potent when young, because it is "Fresher"....a snake constantly replaces any that maybe used from the glands, so it doesn't lose any potency....it is just that they can't control the amount pumped at the time of strike, and adult can and will. Depending on the temps in your locale they will be hybernating as temps drop and will be found under leaves as they look for their spot....copperheads are marked perfectly to blend in so watch your step in leaves on the ground.

 

[song of joy]

My buff orpington ate a garter snake that was about 10 inches long. It didn't seen to have any adverse effects on her.

 

[Ridgerunner]

Embuck I guess zero is an even number since it is divisible by 2. Took a bit of thought.

I've had chickens eat snakes, but always fairly small ones, say 6" or so. They don't swallow them alive, they peck at them until they kill them. That can make for great games of keep-away.

Roadrunners are known to eat rattlesnakes. I guess the digestive juices neutralize the poison but if they were bitten they'd probably be in trouble.

I've seen chickens peck a frog or large mouse into pieces the size they can at. I've also seen them not attack a black snake about 2 feet long. There is a size limit they will attack, some of that might have to do with the size of the chicken.

It's possible something about eating those three snakes at the same time had something to do with her dying but it may have just been a coincidence. It's hard to know for sure.

 

[Dvmoe]

My aunt had two chickens, one of which are three small snakes and died not long afterwards. I thought that she might have gotten an impacted or overfilled crop. Or had trouble digesting the snakes. Does that seem reasonable? Has anyone else had chickens eat snakes?

I saw one of my hens eat a snake for the first time today. It looked about 8 inches long and about the size of a pencil. I'll keep an eye out for her. I hope she'll be ok