lost a brown leghorn hen & 4 chicks to a snake (warning, dead hen pix)

[alwaystj9]

This is what a snake (probably a rat snake) can do. This was a year old full-sized brown leghorn hen with 5 x 2 week old chicks. They were in a metal dog kennel with extra smaller wire around the lower 2 feet and a plastic tarp cover. This kennel is inside a fenced yard with 3 grown livestock guardian dogs patrolling. You can see that the hen was smothered and her head and neck were in the snakes mouth and he tried to swallow her but she was too big for the snake. No bite nor other damage to the hen's body. One chick somehow survived and was hiding under the hen. NO trace at all of the other chicks. No mess or disturbance to anything in the pen or to the kennel. A snake is pretty much the only predator that will kill without disturbing the site.
First pic as found this morning:

second pic with lone survivor peaking out, the hen is up against the gate so I had to push her to open it:

Chick:

Final pic is of damage to hen's head showing how the snake smothered her.

 

[DLA]

I'm so sorry for you that you lost your hen and chicks. That's awful! It's not common for snakes to attack live full grown chickens but it does happen with certain larger snakes. It may have initially been going after the chicks and ended up engaging the hen when she tried to protect them, then gave up when it realized she was to big to eat. Full coverage with small gage hardware cloth above and with a buried apron that the snake can't get under is the only way to try and keep them out. Snakes can easily climb up and over where the larger gaps are in the wire. What a terrible thing to come out and find! Sending condolences.

 

[ChickenShepherd_6116]

Oh no, I'm so sorry for your losses! I wasn't aware that snakes will sometimes go after adult chickens. If I were you, I would get another chick or two for the lone survivor to be with and raise them inside to prevent any future problems, since I assume you don't have any other hens that would raise that chick. Again, I am very sorry about your loss... losing members of the flock is really hard, especially several at one time.

 

[alwaystj9]

Thank you all for the condolences. I usually have broody mamas & chicks in a pen inside the main coop but this hen was such a butthead (sorry to be speaking ill of the dead) that I couldn't put her with any other birds. This has been a crazy year for snakes, I usually see 2 or three all year but this month alone I have removed 5 fairly large rat snakes and had an ugly battle with a cottonmouth. I have used that kennel for the first time this year but have never seen any snakes so close to the house. Murphy, the newly named chick (Lone Survivor), is doing well with a bunch of slightly older chicks, I am keeping an eye on them.

 

[TexasBlues]

Damn snakes. Wasn’t Luttrell the last survivor?

 

[alwaystj9]

Damn snakes. Wasn’t Luttrell the last survivor?

Might have been. I have actually never seen the movie but every year my gym does a special Memorial Day Murphy workout in honor of that. I think Murphy may have been the one who sacrificed himself. The name was just stuck in my mind from the planning for the event.

 

[DLA]

The only advantage I can see to having bull snakes around is that from my experience (while living in New Mexico) rattlesnakes typically won't come around where bull snakes are. Any predators that might eat the bull snakes would probably be more dangerous for your chickens. If you've got a lot of bull snakes around then that might mean there is a lot of rodents which are a common food source for them. Taking steps to reduce the rodent population with something like Rat X or Mouse X products (which are generally safe for other non rodents) and adding additionally protections to your coops/runs might get the snakes to move on.

 

[alwaystj9]

I have never seen a bull snake down here (South Louisiana).

 

[DLA]

I have never seen a bull snake down here (South Louisiana).

My mistake, I thought your initial post said bull snake. I must have transposed it in my mind as they are very similar types of snakes.

 

[Betsy57]

This is what a snake (probably a rat snake) can do. This was a year old full-sized brown leghorn hen with 5 x 2 week old chicks. They were in a metal dog kennel with extra smaller wire around the lower 2 feet and a plastic tarp cover. This kennel is inside a fenced yard with 3 grown livestock guardian dogs patrolling. You can see that the hen was smothered and her head and neck were in the snakes mouth and he tried to swallow her but she was too big for the snake. No bite nor other damage to the hen's body. One chick somehow survived and was hiding under the hen. NO trace at all of the other chicks. No mess or disturbance to anything in the pen or to the kennel. A snake is pretty much the only predator that will kill without disturbing the site.
First pic as found this morning:
View attachment 4128006
second pic with lone survivor peaking out, the hen is up against the gate so I had to push her to open it:
View attachment 4128007
Chick:
View attachment 4128008
Final pic is of damage to hen's head showing how the snake smothered her.
View attachment 4128010

I had a 5' black rat snake drop from a tree onto my truck yesterday as I drove into my drive. :*( I have week old chicks, 5 wk old chicks. I didn't think about the snake killing the adults. I'm praying for my chickies. UPDATE: I think I may have been driving around with that snake all day long and it realized it was home and started coming out when I got to my drive. Day 2 and chicks are all ok. Praying it won't get any of my babies. I sprinkled snake repellent around and have ordered a mat w barbs to lay around the perimeter.