Rat Snake..should I worry?

[BEggRN]

My dog found this fella in our yard today; rat snake about 4 feet long. He climbed a tree to get away and, when he came down, made his escape through the chicken pen. I have 3 hens and a (likely) rooster who are about 10-11 weeks old. I put them up in the coop at night where all large openings are covered with hardware cloth, but there are some gaps near the roof that I'm sure a snake could fit through. My husband recently had ankle surgery, but we'll get in there to close it up better as soon as possible. I'm just wondering how worried I need to be. Any specific advice more than a secure coop?

 

[Boonie Stomper]

I actally like to have them around to reduce rodent populations.

A good read here: https://blog.mcmurrayhatchery.com/2011/05/31/snakes-in-the-coop/

 

[em_dawson]

They like to eat the rats and mice that flock to the coop, so they can be good to have around. If they eat all the rodents, though, they will eat eggs occasionally, but they usually don't pose a threat to the chickens themselves unless they're chicks. Just be careful of the snake itself, black rat snakes can be a bit bitey, even though they're not venomous.

 

[Franklinridgefarms]

In my book only good snake is a dead snake. If they are big enough they will eat eggs and I am sure they could kill chickens.

 

[Neggative]

i have had many pet ratsnakes!!! and like them but have had problems with them eating eggs... and that is a beautiful black ratsnake!

 

[Neggative]

and if it does eat eggs catch it and put in a 5 gallon bucket and cart it off 2 or 3 miles... or have somebody catch it... plz dont shoot it!!! (i love! snakes...)

 

[crcgirl93]

My dog found this fella in our yard today; rat snake about 4 feet long. He climbed a tree to get away and, when he came down, made his escape through the chicken pen. I have 3 hens and a (likely) rooster who are about 10-11 weeks old. I put them up in the coop at night where all large openings are covered with hardware cloth, but there are some gaps near the roof that I'm sure a snake could fit through. My husband recently had ankle surgery, but we'll get in there to close it up better as soon as possible. I'm just wondering how worried I need to be. Any specific advice more than a secure coop?View attachment 2146209
View attachment 2146211

I’ve had a Rat snake this size kill chicks and a bantam hen. These were 3 separate events. The snake was not big enough to eat the hen but he killed her trying. If you have anything small I would worry. This seems to be the time of year these things happen too so I’ve been keeping my eye out. My coop is very secure but I’m not sure there’s a way to keep these things out - one came through 1 inch welded wire, ate the chick and couldn’t get back out. Now when I see one I relocate it immediately. I also keep bantams in closed secure area when brooding. Chicks too. All wood shed, no wire or holes for them to slip through.

 

[Franklinridgefarms]

We live in a very snakey area. The only good thing about that is only venomous ones are copperheads, which are fairly common, and timber rattlesnakes which are pretty rare here but more common in some of the neighboring counties. Couple years ago we stopped getting eggs at an odd time and finally figured it was probably due to snakes. We lost a couple hens last time around with chickens that didn’t have any signs of blood or feather loss but did look like there necks were stretched out in an unusual way. This was during the no egg period too, so a pretty good size snake may have been the culprit but not big enough to eat them.
Have I mentioned how much I hate snakes?
My parents both believed the stuff about black rat snakes eating mice and being beneficial. I don’t. I have already found three bunches of hatched out snake eggs this year so I know I’m going to have several run ins with the nasty creatures.

 

[BEggRN]

We have a lot of snakes around here as well. The ones we typically see are these large rat snakes, so even if I move him, he's not the only one around.
This guy was not aggressive toward me at all. I didn't have gloves and was trying to herd him away from my chicken pen with a rake. I know they are very beneficial, and that's great. I've also read they can be a real threat to my girls. I'm not terribly worried about eggs, and they're not laying yet regardless. I just want to keep my flock safe.

 

[Al Gerhart]

They come for the rodents that you are feeding and stay for the eggs. Solve the rodent problem and the snake is forced to earn an honest living chasing mice and rats in the wild. Wild predators are rarely a problem until the flock owner attracts them by feeding rodents.