This morning my 12 yr. old son killed a 2 ft. garter snake that was in his chicken pen. He thought it was going to kill his bantam BB Red Old English hen. Can this kind of snake really kill a chicken ? I thought they were harmless. Anyone have any experience with this snake ? Thanks, Lisa EM Squared Farms www.emsquaredfarms.weebly.com
from www.fcps.edu: "[Eastern] Garter snakes have many types of prey, including: frogs, toads, salamanders, earthworms, small fish, tadpoles, mice, bird eggs, slugs, crayfish, leeches, insects, and small snakes. They also eat carrion, and often get run over by cars when they try to eat some small dead animal (such as a frog) off a road." They cannot eat anything that big and they are not poisonous, so I don't think they could kill the birds.
as down on snakes as i am, and with all the problems with them i've had this year, i would not kill a garter snake in my hen house. scoop him out with a shovel, and chunk him elsewheres.. i do not see how a garter snake could bother the girls, mine would eat him also. i had to beat them off a 12''-15'' copperhead in the yard a few weeks ago, with the snake striking at the birds. they was just determined to eat him, and he had drew a crowd. luckily, i happened to be in the yard when all this started, and dispatched the snake.
I wouldn't. They don't get big enough to both a chicken, and they're ability to handle some common chicken pests (such as rodents) is worth keeping them around.
Where in the world did you get the information that a garter snake would eat a he? I read some pretty wild tales on this site but that about the best one so far.
Thanks everyone. I'm going to have my son read this thread for sure. My husband thought the snake probably was going after the eggs or something. He didn't think it could kill a chicken (even if a bantam). He said he saw the chickens pecking at the snake, but he saw his prize show hen in danger ! (a Black-Breasted Red Old English Game Bantam hen he got for free from a breeder - worth $100). Can you believe he used my husband's channel lock pliers to move it and then kill it (he said he bashed in his skull on a rusty metal table outside and cut it into pieces). He told me after the fact. I was pretty sure they were pretty harmless, but wasn't sure. Well at least he's learning to take initiative and take care of his chickens. And yes, he's only 12 and home-schooled so he does spend a lot of time looking after them. Today when he's taking a break from his virtual school, I was going to have him take new pictures of the for sale chickens to update the website (more recent pics of the chickens for sale). We usually get black racer snakes around here. And I think I even saw a coral snake once too. Well, next time he'll know not to kill it. Just relocate it to the other end of the property. Thanks !!
well,, whatever he does,, don't let him fool with a coral snake,, they are very toxic. red on yellow, kill a fellow, is the color to watch out for.
