Last night's visitor

[wsmoak]

Yep, just another rat snake, probably a grey, although... the front of his body is striped like a yellow rat snake, so maybe a cross. They come in all kinds of patterns, I can tell them by the head -- looks like somebody's pet python escaped!

He was very full and not moving fast at all. I picked him up with the (very long) hoe and put him out in the yard, (half hoping that the resident owls would eat him, now that he knows where the coop is...)

The chickens are incarcerated in their run today, I'm hoping that if he comes back for the almost-ready-to-hatch eggs, the others will sound the alarm and run him off.

Also considering strategic placement of a metal crate with a cat in it, right in front of the coop entrance, with a ramp up and over for the chickens. But they might not go for that idea.

-Wendy

 

[Cetawin]

That is a rat snake. Non-venomous, non-aggressive unless you aggravate it and it might bite but it will flee first if it can. Will eat eggs and small chicks but no threat to human or adult chickens. They are excellent rodent control. I have a black one living outside my horse stall and she takes care of almost all the mice that come throguh the barn and the mare does not mind her being there so I leave her alone.

 

[Stingrayg4]

Quote:
I was thinking that it looked like a python too. I've never seen a rat snake with that kind of pattern. The ones we have around here are a lot darker colored.

-S

 

[yinepu]

We have a Texas rat snake that is welcome to stay. She has never gotten a chick (not to say she never will..).. but she has eaten a few eggs.. and plenty of rodents.. So I don't mind paying her in a few eggs to hang around since she does keep any rodents out.
Besides.. I'll take a snake any day over a coon or a coyote.
I also think snakes are cute.. so yeah.. I'm just a bit odd....

 

[ReikiStar]

I think he's pretty! Glad your coop kept him out and thank you for not killing him.

 

[zookeeper15133]

Snakes are dumb. If you lay some burlap sacks around and it crawls into it, it won't know how to get out. Then you can pick up the bag, tie it up and relocate it.

 

[wsmoak]

Quote:
Well THAT didn't work. I went out to check after the storm today and opened the egg door to find him staring at me. He was contemplating one of the ceramic eggs, which would have been the second such theft had he gotten away with it. *I'm* not going to kill him, but swallowing that just might!

-Wendy

 

[flowergirl60]

I don't like snakes.

Hope I never see one.

 

[Stingrayg4]

Quote:
A few days ago I caught a snake in the nest box helping himself to eggs. I put him down with a lethal injection of lead. I went out to collect the eggs yesterday and now two of the golf balls that I leave in the nest boxes are gone (and there were far fewer eggs than I'm used to getting). If another snake swallowed those golf balls, I hope he choked on them.

-S