Large Cottonmouth in coop

[Papayapiechicken]

Today I was doing the usual coop check and noticed a very large cottonmouth snake half way in my bantam chicken coop. I covered the outside of my coop with black mesh incase this ever happened because there are a lot of cottonmouths where I live. I quickly let my chicks out and placed them in a safe area for the night. I thought the snake was tangled in the black mesh but when I went back to check it was gone. I am worried about my tiny chickens being around such a large snake. What should I do to keep cottonmouths away from my coop? Will this snake come back again or will it move on. I noticed it didn’t eat any of the eggs and all the chickens were safe. I’ve seen cottonmouths in my yard before but never this large and I worry for all my small animals. Any advice on how to keep them in check would be appreciated. Thank you!

 

[azygous]

Rattlesnakes are my neighbors, also. The trick to keeping them away is fervent rodent control, not just in the coop and run, but your entire premises. I have bucket roller traps set up all year round. When the mice were plentiful, I was getting the occasional rattler in the run. Keeping the mice ant rats under control has kept the snakes away.

A word on snake removal. I was a park ranger in the past. I was required to remove snakes frequently from campsites in my desert state park. I was not permitted to kill them. I found out it was much easier and safer to catch the snake with a special grabber and plop it into a covered bucket than to try to kill it. Snakes are not easy to kill and you can get bitten trying.

I took a long grabbing tool and taped thick pieces of foam inside the grabbing jaws to hold the snake securely, then I'd drop it into the waiting garbage pail. Then, having all sorts of deserted roads where I live, I would take it for a ride and deposit it far from where anyone lived.

 

[Papayapiechicken]

Rattlesnakes are my neighbors, also. The trick to keeping them away is fervent rodent control, not just in the coop and run, but your entire premises. I have bucket roller traps set up all year round. When the mice were plentiful, I was getting the occasional rattler in the run. Keeping the mice ant rats under control has kept the snakes away.

A word on snake removal. I was a park ranger in the past. I was required to remove snakes frequently from campsites in my desert state park. I was not permitted to kill them. I found out it was much easier and safer to catch the snake with a special grabber and plop it into a covered bucket than to try to kill it. Snakes are not easy to kill and you can get bitten trying.

I took a long grabbing tool and taped thick pieces of foam inside the grabbing jaws to hold the snake securely, then I'd drop it into the waiting garbage pail. Then, having all sorts of deserted roads where I live, I would take it for a ride and deposit it far from where anyone lived.

Thank you so much for the response. I went out this morning and realized it was still trapped in the black mesh. I’m probably going to leave it be since I don’t want to be near it. I’m attaching a picture. Is this a cottonmouth?

 

[azygous]

Is it still alive, or has it died of exposure by now? Be aware that a dead rattlesnake is still capable of a poisonous bite as the nervous system remains active after a snake dies. This can present a danger to you as you are extricating the snake from the mesh as well as your chickens who may mess with the snake. Reflexive nerve action can cause the snake to twitch and bite.

Your mesh barrier is turning out to be an inconvenience if not a danger. You would be better served by removing the netting and installing half inch or smaller hardware cloth twenty-four inches high around your run. If you have a snake, then you may easily access it and remove it safely with the sort of grabbing tool I described.

And go to work on rodent control. It will greatly reduce incentives for snakes to hang around.

 

[Papayapiechicken]

Is it still alive, or has it died of exposure by now? Be aware that a dead rattlesnake is still capable of a poisonous bite as the nervous system remains active after a snake dies. This can present a danger to you as you are extricating the snake from the mesh as well as your chickens who may mess with the snake. Reflexive nerve action can cause the snake to twitch and bite.

Your mesh barrier is turning out to be an inconvenience if not a danger. You would be better served by removing the netting and installing half inch or smaller hardware cloth twenty-four inches high around your run. If you have a snake, then you may easily access it and remove it safely with the sort of grabbing tool I described.

And go to work on rodent control. It will greatly reduce incentives for snakes to hang around.

Thanks again! Yes it is still alive. I think I’ll have to cover my coop with the hardware cloth you mentioned.

 

[azygous]

Can you find a grabbing tool and modify it with foam as I described? This snake does need to be dealt with before it hurts someone. You do not want a bite that can cause instant gangrene or nerve damage that could be permanent. Snake bite victims will all tell you their lives have never been the same since they were bitten and the pain was excruciating.

There is a way to temporarily immobilize a snake. I've had success putting a rattlesnake into a state of unconsciousness by using a long handled tool to smash the snake's body just behind the head to cut off oxygen to the brain, causing the snake to go limp, making it safer to collect the snake into a container. A rake or hoe might do.

I used a snake hook at the time I was giving a tour through a limestone cavern and a rattlesnake was blocking my path in a narrow corridor with 30 people behind me. By pressing down hard behind the head for about one minute, the snake will go to sleep. It can give you time to cut the snake out of the mesh and get it into a covered container for disposal.

 

[Nyhillbillies]

Is it still alive, or has it died of exposure by now? Be aware that a dead rattlesnake is still capable of a poisonous bite as the nervous system remains active after a snake dies. This can present a danger to you as you are extricating the snake from the mesh as well as your chickens who may mess with the snake. Reflexive nerve action can cause the snake to twitch and bite.

Your mesh barrier is turning out to be an inconvenience if not a danger. You would be better served by removing the netting and installing half inch or smaller hardware cloth twenty-four inches high around your run. If you have a snake, then you may easily access it and remove it safely with the sort of grabbing tool I described.

And go to work on rodent control. It will greatly reduce incentives for snakes to hang around.

Related question: we have full-grown chickens. No young’uns. We have nocturnal rats. If a snake comes around (eastern rattler or rat snake etc), would it bother the chickens or just be interested in the rats?

 

[McChooky]

Related question: we have full-grown chickens. No young’uns. We have nocturnal rats. If a snake comes around (eastern rattler or rat snake etc), would it bother the chickens or just be interested in the rats?

Large constrictors (eastern rat snakes) squeeze their prey to death then swallow them head first. They'll try to eat young feathered pullets and cockerels under 3 months old or small breeds such as bantams. Some people keep them around their coop for rodent control.

 

[azygous]

You cannot predict the behavior of any living thing. They each have their own agenda. If you have rats, rats are capable of injuring chickens as they roost at night. I've read very sad and agonizing stories of rats eating Silkies as they roost. The poor things end up with their feet missing or worse. You need to do everything in your power to get rid of rats. Compared to the damage rats can do, snakes seem tame.

 

[Ridgerunner]

There are different colors for cottonmouths. Where do you live? You might search for pictures of cottonmouths for your area. I'm used to cottonmouths being darker but looking at some photos on the internet some cottonmouths could be that light.

The way I determine if a snake is probably poisonous is to look at the head. A cottonmouth, copperhead, or rattlesnake has a triangular head. Other than a coral snake, most nonpoisonous snakes have heads shaped more like a pencil. That's not a coral, wrong colors. Cottonmouths tend to be more stout and thick as opposed to long and thin.

I can't tell what that is by that photo. I'd need to see the whole snake and the head. You might try calling your local animal control or law enforcement or even fire station (not a 911 call as this is not an emergency), they can probably help you identify it. If it is poisonous they are likely to take care of it for you. They don't want you to get bitten but they might just tell you to kill it.

Growing up on the farm my standard way to kill a snake was with a garden hoe. One with a nice long handle. If I can hold the head down with a shovel or something, I've found an ax to be useful to kill them if you can swing it accurately with one hand.

I've caught non-poisonous snakes like rat snakes or black racers when they were in my coop eating eggs of chicks in the brooder. A friend wanted me release them on her property in the hope they would eat poisonous snakes. If they were not in the coop she could not have them. I wanted them around to eat mice and rats.