Rat snake

[DLS]

I have a lot of rat snakes this year. I find them in the chicken yard and close to the chickens. will the try and kill the hens (17 week old )
what about the eggs will the eat the eggs?
what have y'all done to keep them out of your chicken yard?

 

[LynneP]

They're beautiful reptiles and they can climb 12' and enter coops over walls, fences and through elevated vents. They'll go into trees and raid for birds and their young. They'll take eggs and chickens when available. They're probably getting enough protein from rodents, NOW, but the moment your poultry make them scent the air with appetite, you'll start losing them unless you have excellent biosecurity. They'll also use rodent burrows to go under barriers. Um, so...pretend you can climb like a rat snake and squeeze through openings and come up under barriers. It's doubtful you can relocate all of them, it's been a banner year for snakes all over North America and they're competing for available food. It could get very ugly as summer proceeds.

Our snake population includes 5' female garter snakes. We use 1/2" hardware cloth as a border, we buried some and we used extensive barriers on vents and under joists on the run and in the coop.

I like snakes, but getting them close to confined birds is just...tragic. Very sorry. On the other hand, if you can snake-proof your coop/run, little else will EVER get in!

 

[can you hear me now?]

i have to agree with that

 

[DLS]

will a rat snake kill a grown chicken?

 

[Wolf-Kim]

Quote:
They can kill a full grown chicken, but I do not know if they can successfully eat them.

They WILL go after eggs..

-Kim

 

[theOEGBman]

Quote:
They can kill a full grown chicken, but I do not know if they can successfully eat them.

They WILL go after eggs..

-Kim

... and rats and mice.

 

[Wolf-Kim]

Quote:
They can kill a full grown chicken, but I do not know if they can successfully eat them.

They WILL go after eggs..

-Kim

... and rats and mice.

Yes, and rats and mice.. LOL

If I don't have chicks around, I usually leave the Rat snakes in the barn, but right now I have quite a few bite-sized morsels running around. So all the slithering "pets" are moved into the woods.

I've been known to catch and bring them to my barn...if I don't have chicks or adolescents on the ground..

-Kim

 

[can you hear me now?]

Once again I have to say, a black rat snake is also a king snake, which means they eat other smaller snakes. This is a good thing because I hate copperheads.

 

[DLS]

I try and catch them & take to rthe woods . But I think they come back. Mine are grey & white patches I think they call them grey rat snakes .