Missing chick

[Crazychickengirl2]

I did find a baby snake this morning

 

[TheAlarmCluck]

I did find a baby snake this morning

Probably related to whatever is eating your eggs and chicks.
You should try some methods to get rid of snakes or at least make the brooders snake-proof.

 

[Crazychickengirl2]

Well the door was closed all night so how would it have gotten in?

 

[Crazychickengirl2]

What are some good ways to snake proof it?

 

[Oob Child]

What are some good ways to snake proof it?

I wish I knew. @Allsfairinloveandbugs would definitely know tho.

 

[Tired old Rooster]

What are some good ways to snake proof it?

If by it, you mean the brooder tub, I would say that a strong fine mesh would work. Less than a quarter inch holes.

 

[Allsfairinloveandbugs]

What are some good ways to snake proof it?

How to snakeproof depends on your set-up, but in general, 1/2" hardware cloth or smaller is your best friend. All sides and tops should be covered, with no gap larger than 1/2" or smaller. Smaller for quail and maybe bantams, since smaller chicks can be eaten by smaller snakes. The mesh should extend all the way to the ground, preferably below ground, or you can use an apron if you wish. I don't use wire buried around my broody pens because they are portable, but a broody/chick pen that is permanent can be more easily secured from snakes. Though snakes can't dig, they will check all around a brooder pen for the slightest gap to access. Snakes have a great sense of smell, and they follow scent trails left by prey AND other snakes to find their next meal.

Here is one of my broody/chick pens. This one is made from weldeded wire wrapped with hardware cloth, but I have other brooder pens too, including giant wire dog cages wrapped in hardware cloth. (Hardware cloth is wire mesh; why it's called "cloth" idk.) Since the pen is portable, there is a hardware cloth apron extending out, covered by dirt and held down by bricks. No snakes have gotten into this pen this year.

This is the pen where a 4 ft rat snake gained entrance and ate two of ten week-old chicks a month ago. One problem I have is I live near a large river and so my soil is very sandy. Sand is much softer and easier for a snake to push through than clay or other heavier soil would be. I discovered the 2 missing chicks one morn when it Finally wasn't raining. You don't know how many times I counted chicks "1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,??" many times in disbelief, as if by continuing to count, the 9th and 10th chicks would miraculously reappear. But of course they didnt; they were in the belly of a snake. I didn't find where the snake gained entrance, but did see slightly washed out soil in places. All it took was a slight wash-out, and in the pen went the snake. I shoveled even more dirt at the bottom, the chicks are still in the pen, and have had no more missing chicks.

Here is a large rat snake I found in a nest box while checking for late-laid eggs and before locking chickens up one night. I average finding 3-5 each and every year, including one comparable in size just last week. (Not the one that ate the chicks; that one was smaller.) Ive never found a rat snake less than 5 feet long in a nest box, although smaller rat snakes definitely eat songbird eggs. Copperheads don't eat eggs, only chicks.

 

[2ndTink]

I did find a baby snake this morning

I believe that is actually a Ring-necked snake. Here is a link to their info, they are a small snake maxing out at 15 inches.

https://animalia.bio/ring-necked-snake

We found one of these about 5-6" long a few years ago, somehow it found its way inside my husband's muck boot on the door step. We thought it was a baby, but our friend is a snake lady and properly identified it for us.