Is this snake in my coop harmful

[Ifitaintbroke]

Fair point, it's better to know the species of snake you're dealing with, but it is a good quick and dirty rule to tip one off if a snake *might* be venomous

Exactly.

 

[123RedBeard]

Some snakes will puff out there heads to look like a triangle ... Like this black rat snake ...

This is the very same snake a few moments later ...

This little rat snake would shake its tail ... I'm not sure if it was trying to imitate a rattlesnake, or if it was trying to confuse the cat on which end to "play with"!

Non-venomous snakes will have much larger scales on the top of its head, compared to the rest of its body ... Where as a venomous one will have all the same small scales.

 

[No Coop No Problem]

Rat snakes are harmless and good for pest control. The snake I see occasionally here does a better job than the barn cats. The very first night I ever saw a snake I also heard rats dying in the walls where cats can't reach

 

[Logar]

Not poisonous

Well technically there are isolated localities of garter snakes that have adaptations that have been cause from generations of eating poisonous toads and salamanders which causes them to “hold onto” said poison. There are also others that are technically poisonous as well but this is my favorite one. Not at all related to this thread about a harmless and beneficial western rat snake. Just a random fact my nerd brain felt was needed information.

 

[Belovedturkey]

Sorry for taking so long to answer, it’s been busy lately. I was able to get the snake out by locking the chickens in a different area of the coop. I attempted to get it into a bucket but it was bigger and heavier than I thought so it got out, and slithered out through a hole in my wiring, so I’m blocking that up and looking for more holes.

 

[Kaw-Liga]

Rat snake. I personally wouldn’t let a snake hang around the coop one way or another. Also, another nifty way to identify venomous snakes versus non-venomous snakes - especially if you’re stumped by the size and shape of its head - is to look at the shape of the pupils of its eyes. Round pupils = non-venomous. Slit-like pupils = venomous. Pictured here is a fine specimen of water moccasin, sun-bathing without a care on the bank of my creek in December in southeast Louisiana in 2022.