Hey y'all from Texas!

[neo71665]

Howdy from arkansas.

Rat snakes are beneficial but are an endangered species when I find 'em in my coop.

 

[Vixen55]

OMG! Beneficial snake are you sure?????? What does the head look like? Any snake around your poultry that has a thing for eating eggs is not good!

 

[Vixen55]

I used the flash so her eyes reflected badly but I think it's just a rat snake.

 

[neo71665]

It's a texas rat snake. Yes ya'll have your own breed.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Texas_rat_snake

 

[416bigbore]

I used the flash so her eyes reflected badly but I think it's just a rat snake.

Thank you for the pic, good luck with her, just wanted to make sure it wasn't a pit viper. Egg eating snakes of any kind are bad news, I guess you have the situation handled.

 

[janiedoe]

Welcome to BYC from east Texas.
It is a rat snake, less than beneficial in mho. Nothing against snakes (I actually like them), but thet will try to eat chickens too.
The only way to keep them out of your coop is with 1/4" or 1/2" hardware cloth and no openings over a 1/2" anywhere. (They still come in without an invite if you leave doors open, as I do.)
Good luck with your snake proofing.

 

[Vixen55]

Well, I think I'm just going to build a new coop! Snake AND varmint proof. This old structure just has too many places a snake can get in.

 

[N F C]

Hi, best of luck with your new coop build!

 

[swampfox440]

Beautiful snake , the reason they come to your coop is that grain attracts rats , mice and such . If they don't find any they may be harmful to poultry eggs, but which would you rather have a rat infestation or a few rat snakes, both kill chicks if given a chance . Six of one half dozen of the other . Best to snake proof your coop and not have either one . I know this for a fact , rats can very hard to eliminate . Good luck

 

[DucksAreBest]

Hello, welcome to BackYard Chickens! Thank you for joining our community.