This may be a little off topic... but maybe not ... out of my 8 good layers, in the last 2 weeks I've been getting 0 - 2 or 3 eggs. I thought it was due to the heat, but it really hasn't been that hot yet lately. Then yesterday I found a 4.5 foot black rat snake coiled up in one of the nests with about 8 eggs! (Don't worry, no pics!)
I was so mad! The hens are laying just fine! But we've been feeding this ... this... thief and intruder, for who knows how long!
Suffice it to say, he's feasted his last at my breakast buffet. Tomorrow we'll be thoroughly exploring around and under the hen house to see if it had a mate, and get rid of it as well, if so.
Grr! I felt so secure from coyotes thanks to Gracie; crows seem to eliminate the threat from hawks; the hens lay low when buzzards circle ... I'd gotten complacent. Sigh!
I was so mad! The hens are laying just fine! But we've been feeding this ... this... thief and intruder, for who knows how long!
Suffice it to say, he's feasted his last at my breakast buffet. Tomorrow we'll be thoroughly exploring around and under the hen house to see if it had a mate, and get rid of it as well, if so.
Grr! I felt so secure from coyotes thanks to Gracie; crows seem to eliminate the threat from hawks; the hens lay low when buzzards circle ... I'd gotten complacent. Sigh!
