killed a snake & 7 week old chick w/ chunk missing head -related??

[crazy4eggsJulie]

I killed a snake today in front of one of my coops. Probably wasn't poisonous, but I wasn't taking any chances. A couple hours later, I saw that a 7 week old chick in the coop/run area next to the one the snake was near is missing a chunk of its head. No feathers, no skin, just bloody raw tissue. I've read conflicting info on snakes but I thought if anything, a snake would strangle the chick and swallow it whole, right? It couldn't tear off a section of its head, could it? Surely this is a conincidence?????

 

[Rare Feathers Farm]

No snakes are poisonous, only venomous.

Anyway--no, I would say they are NOT related. Snakes don't bite pieces out of things. They swallow everything they eat whole. If a snake bit the chick in the head--there would be tiny puncture wounds, not a chunk missing. Most likely, other chicks pecked him or there may be a nail or piece of chicken wire that he got hung up on....but I wouldn't blame the snake.

Lastly, snakes in general are great to have around--non-venomous, you know....because they eat mice. Most won't bother chicks, either if your brooder is secure enough.

 

[squeak1387]

what color was the snake? Some snakes srtangle prey and some (venomous ones) bite and let it die. There are some snake venoms that decompse flesh for easier digestion. Are you near water? And what color was it?

 

[Kassaundra]

Quote:
x2

More death, destruction and disease througout history at the "paws" of rodentia then snakes.

 

[BrattishTaz]

I would suspect another chick.

 

[JoePa]

snakes eat mice yes - but they also eat birds and their eggs - they eat baby rabbits too and anything that they can get down their throat - I've seem black snakes climb bushes after eggs in a nest I could live without them -

 

[crazy4eggsJulie]

Thanks guys! This is actually the first snake I've ever killed. Normally my husband does it. We have a pond and the neighbors on either side of us have a pond and a slough behind us so there is water EVERYWHERE and we have been killing cotton mouths and copperheads regularly. I have 4 small children and with the TX dry spell they are coming right up to our front door! So venomous or not-a snake at our house is gonna be a dead one. But I do see why some people value them.

Now if I can figure out what in the world did this to her!