Sad/Bad News tonight

[Backyard_Chicken_rancher]

I want to set the scene for you..
I have been going out at night locking the chickens in putting my BO's up on the roost and my lil ones back into the coop that have not figured out they need to be inside the coop at night....

Well tonight I was running a little late by an hour or so and what do I see 3 BO's outside the coop that is weird they have been going in everynight But I thought my BR's had chased them out they do that from time to time, so I open the door to the coop and look for the rest they were up on the coop yes! I have been waiting for this to happen. I was wondering even more so now if those 2 were up there why weren't the rest......Hmmm so I started to look around the inside of my coop and what do I see. One of my welsummers half way down a snakes throat

I said to the wife watch him I don't want him to leave the area I was

so I went to get my I would liek to say 22 here but I don't Have one and My 12 would have been over kill so I got my shovle and I wacked him a few times but it wasn't sharp enough

(*note to self* sharpen shovel ) now now I got a half dead snake running amuck in my coop so I had to resort to my pellet gun and a Hallogen light (the flash light I had sux big time) Well he is dead now I put about 5 pellets into his head before he would die He was about 5-51/2 feet long very thick bull snake. I will not be posting any pictures because the batteries in the camera nees charged up but if he is in the spot where I left him (hidden in a drum with a tin lid and a cinder block on it ) then I will be getting pics for y'all to see if you want I won't show unless you want to see them.

So the Sad news is I lost a 2month old chicken tonight

Although the Bad news is the snake didn't get his dinner and lost his life (A life for a life) Yes I know I should not have killed it but he would have just kept comeing back until I did kill him so I HAD TO!
so thanks for reading this just wanted to let you all know to lock your girls in ON TIME!

 

[Dogfish]

Sorry about the loss, but you made the right decision for the well being of your flock. Time to see where your security failed you and add some hardware cloth, and possibly an electric fence.

 

[Terry]

A couple of years ago we had a tug of war with a snake over Reba my RIR The snake was in a crack underneath the box"coop".
I had to get my husband to help me it was so strong! She did survive but the snake did not!!!
I wasn't taking any chances of it coming back for more. I am so sorry for your loss

 

[greeneggsandham]

Sorry for your loss. You did what you had to do.
I don't like snakes, but I will let them be as long as they are not bothering my animals.
They can eat all the mice and rats they can find around my property, but touch an egg or a chicken and they are gone.

 

[Backyard Hencam]

Gosh, that is one predator I don't have to deal with. I really like snakes but I won't tolerate anything eating my hens! Good luck! Hope you don't have to go through that again!

 

[ellieroo]

I live on the edge of very dry land hence my green yard is a favorite watering hole! I can deal with the bull snakes but the rattlers Not so much.Keep a snake thwacker just out side the door (long sharp spade). can relate to your fustration the 1st rattler ever encountered I only wacked off the rattles and p'od the snake. I've gotten better!

 

[marthas_ear]

It is sad.
I am sorry for the loss of any life...snake included, really.
Been there, done that.
I think anyone raising chickens learns the lesson: "How bad do you want to raise chickens?"
Do you want it bad enough to take a life? At some point, even in urban setting- some critter will push you to the line...are you able and willing to defend the chickens? At what length will you go? Shovel? BB's? 22? 12 gauge?

I had to answer that question myself so I wasn't a hypocrite to eat meat.
It is hypocrisy to eat meat, yet not be willing to do the dirty work of killing the animal.
Not only do I think it is unethical/cowardly to trap a predator and release it to be someone elses problem, it is ILLEGAL to transport wildlife to another location. If you live in city- taking a coon to the country is stupid and illegal.

Nature isn't tidy or sanitized.
Simple laws, really. Kill or die.
It is life lesson to teach.
Values and ethics education.
Are you willing to do the dirty work, or do you call the "sanitation department" or animal control to do your dirty work?
Personally, I trap, then shoot with apologies to every life that is dispatched.
Every life is sacred to me.
I have answered the questions so I sleep at night...
literally...nothing worse than waking up to squawking chickens under attack from a coon!

 

[twentynine]

Why all the running around. Should have been able to blugeon the snake to death with a stick, dull shovel, hoe, even a boot heel. I saw my Mother In Law send one to the other side with a cast iron skillet, and a lawn chair--- that's right a lawn chair!

If the chicken was half down it ain't like he was gonna bite you, or even get away. Grab him up and pop him like a whip. No need for fire arms. Snake, adrenalyn, excitement, fire arms ----- bad bad bad mix.


Snakes scare the sweet bejeezers out of me, walk up on one, my heart will actually palpitate. Heck, if I am up on the tractor and see one, I feel like I gotta pee. But, unless they are actually activily intruding into my space, I go with the live and let live approach. Your snake was deffinitely in your space!

Ran over one last year while I was bush hogging the pasture. Grass was very high, 2' or so, old bush hog was missing a lot of metal so I had to be carefull, sometimes solid objects came hurling out in the direction of the tractor. Cutting along, no hint at all that a snake was even in the same parish, bush hog kinda makes a whump noise. Something wet, sticky and heavy lands up on my back. I glance around and I swear their was a 90' long, 10' in diameter ( maybe a slight exaggeration ) snake drapped over the tractor seat laying against my back. I gave up bush hogging for the summer. This year I bought a brand new bush hog so that kind of stuff don't happen no more. At my age my heart can't stand that kind of shock anymore.

 

[chickenlady08]

in total agreement with you twentynine.

Last year I had a broody RSL in the coop and when I went out to close them up for bed, something caught my eye in the far end of the coop. It was dark but I had my flashlight, so I sent my son in to get my husband. The blasted thing wasn't going to eat the eggs that were in the one nest, it was trying to get up and over the nestbox and eat the ones under my Momma hen. Well I am not one to want to kill a snake, esp a black one but he was in my girls house and gonna eat my babies that hadn't even hatched yet. Well no way was I gonna let that happen. (well hubby took care of the snake because once he got out there i kinda froze and couldn't move) I am afraid of snakes and just to see one on the road or whereever it totally creeps me out. But as long as they aren't messing with my chickens or fish or any of my other pets, then they are free to roam and live out their lives. Sorry that this one didn't make it but my livestock supply owner told me that snakes will actually swollow the head of the Mother hen if she is trying to protect her eggs or babies and kill her just to get them. Talk about rotten luck.

Oh and Backyard chicken rancher, what kind of snake was it you killed? That had to be a huge snake to eat a 2 month old. My babies are 5 weeks old and I am afraid to put them out in the brooder coop because of that same reason, now I am not going to until they get bigger, much bigger. I thought once they got a little bit of size they aren't in danger from snakes. I guess I am mistaken.

So Sorry for your loss of your little girl.

 

[WriterofWords]

Sometimes you have to kill the predator. Yes bull snakes come in handy,, but not when they are living off of your chickens. Even my students know not to step on a bug in my class but to throw it out the door,, but if I had a snake eating my chickens it would be stupid of me not to take care of my chickens.