Mr. Not so welcomed friend Kill or not?

[Colonel]

These first two photos are of one that most folks here don't have to worry about. These were taken last night (Tuesday, May 14). This is a spitting cobra that had been killing chickens tended by missionaries in Sierra Leone, West Africa (I am vice-president of the non-profit corporation that provides support for them). This one was five feet long and had already killed one that night. They had lost four other hens over the past few months to snake bite.

The cobras are nocturnal and the missionaries were able to keep it "corralled" by using a flashlight since they hate the light. They were finally able to kill it using a shovel (their dog got a good bite out the snake also).





Here are a couple of more mundane chicken snake photos that I took here at my place in Florida. I kept the snakes around just for the entertainment value. Also, for those saying to just relocate the snake - I have a friend who did that, and the snake returned several weeks later. It had a very distinctive scar on it so he knew it was the same one.

 

[cluckinalong]

Mr. Snake will eat eggs but I don't think snakes eat every day. Better to give him some eggs than to have a raccoon or possum get in your hen house. My experience is that I think those two kill for fun. I know for a fact possums eat the heads and leave the bodies. If you have a broody hen, move her to safety. Snakes love tiny baby chicks. It took me a while to figure out that's who was taking my fuzzy babies at night.

 

[Sjisty]

Hey Colonel, I've got his brother! We relocated this guy, too.


Either he or another one just like him back back a few weeks later -

 

[Judy P-E]

if you don't want to kill it, catch it and relocate it to another area. We had many rat snakes because the house was barely lived in. We have relocated many and now only have a few around. They are numerous in northern Virginia.

 

[Gary Pey]

Why don't you catch it and relocate it? Snakes do a lot of good. Aren't we fellow predators? Give him a break.

 

[louispat1968]

Definitely kill it. I generally as a rule do not kill snakes because we have problems with gophers and moles. Once they get in your hen house, they will be back. I thought our hen house was snake proof but I have killed two of them in our henhouse the last four years

 

[Colonel]

Hey Colonel, I've got his brother! We relocated this guy, too.


Either he or another one just like him back back a few weeks later -

Sure looks like the one we had here!

My guess is that, unless you relocated him a long way from there, it's the same one. That's just going by my friend's experience with a return snake though - I don't have first hand knowledge of them doing that.

You're just across the state from me. I'm in Volusia County.

 

[aussiebushgirl]

I really don't see what all the fuss is about. It always seems to me like people react the the idea of a snake with such horror and am immediate knee-jerk reaction to kill it. Did you know that more people die from snake bite when they're trying to kill the snake??? I'd start by improving the fencing around your coop and run. Judging by the size of the wire, it's way too large to keep most predators and vermin out! A snake can inch its way through wire gauge of less than 1", so get rid of the larger gauge chicken wire if you can and replace with something around 1/2". You could always keep the existing wire in place and attach the smaller gauge wire around that, but you must make sure that you snake proof the area as much as possible to make it safe for your girls. Too many people make the mistake of using large gauge wire, and it just isn't up to the job of protecting your girls or their eggs.

Btw, it'll choose an egg over a chicken any day!

It's a fallacy that a snake will return to the same coop to continue feasting! Where did that idea originate from? If it knows it's not welcome, it won't return. I had an Eastern Brown snake (the 4th deadliest snake in the world) visit my chickens earlier this year. We had neglected to install small gauge wire over the existing 3/4" gauge at the time, and the snake was caught in the act with half it's upper body inside the run! I knew it would have a hard time pushing right through or retracting itself to escape, so I carefully edged my way towards the other side of the run, slid the coop door shut from the outside mechanism, and left the run door OPEN. The last thing I would want to do is tackle a trapped and caged Eastern Brown!!! The best way forward was to make sure that it had an escape route. In the end it retracted its body, and let me tell you, it took great strength for it to be able to do so because it was that snug in the 3/4" hole! When it finally got free, the entire heavy gauge wire that we use (not the flimsy sort), made a huge loud popping like sound - that's how snug the fit was for the snake! It retreated just as fast as it had arrived. Our girls alerted us to its presence initially which is why we were able to get outside fast to see what all the fuss was about. It has never been back.

My advice is for you to tackle the problem with the type of wire you're using. Get rid of the lightweight stuff, and replace with heavyweight, smaller-gauged wire - the smaller the holes, the better! On a positive note, snakes are extremely useful. They keep the vermin down. Make sure you store feed and straw in metal bins that are secure so no possums, snakes or mice can access it. And whatever you do, DO NOT attempt to kill a snake, evuh! Seriously. It just isn't worth it. Give it the space it needs, and if it's not threatening you and yours in any way, just let it be and it will soon make itself scarce. Snakes are not out to "kill" us. We are the enemy here. They don't set out each day telling themselves, "which human can I kill today?"! Problems occur when we find ourselves between a snake and usually its nest or young. When in doubt, calmly and as quickly as possible retreat from the area, and if it looks like it's bunked down for the day, or trapped because its eaten too much and cannot escape, call the snake catcher who'll remove it humanely and relocate it to another, safer environment a few miles away.

Be snake wise! And survive.

aussiebushgirl

 

[aussiebushgirl]

One other thing.....please do not replace 'real' eggs with artificial glass or wooden ones to 'out fox' the snake! A snake's digestive system is unable to process these obstacles and invariably they die a very slow and painful death. To do so just makes me question why it is that the human race is so meaninglessly and wantonly destructive.

aussiebushgirl

 

[IMDeggman]

I have killed a few rat snakes who have eaten eggs and also killed three pullets by swallowing them head first and then regurgitating them, dead. Killing snakes is no picnic. I would consider relocating them if I knew how to capture them. And- will they come back via some homing instinct? How far is enough? Any tips? My chicken yard is bigger than most houses, so snakeproofing is not realistic.