snake in the chicken coop....

BellLisamo · May 6, 2009

I dont have a picture.... but when me and my daughter were checking for eggs, i looked in the corner and all curled up was a snake.... i showed my daughter (whos 4) so shed know to watch out. and i grabbed her and rushed out to find a shovel.... (yes i will kill it). And when i went back, it was gone, nowhere to be found!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! So now i worry about my daughter going outside! The guineas in my incubator better hurry up and grow up. I need snake killers. The chickens didnt even know it was there!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

EricShane · May 6, 2009

TammyTX · May 7, 2009

Good luck getting the Guineas to keep snakes away. There are five that roam our property (and a few Roadrunners) and we've had two Rat snakes in the coop (both now deceased!), a Yellow Bellied Racer out near the chicken yard and a unknown brown tailed snake in the pasture. We have also found more rattlesnakes than I can count but not in the last three years....KNOCK ON WOOD.

Keep a hoe or shovel in the coop if you have room, we do.

BellLisamo · May 7, 2009

ugh!!! i hate them, today my husband found one under the trailer they were using to haul their tools.... rattlesnake... it almost got the guy he was working with. . . i hate snakes

rufus · May 7, 2009

Snakes are an unfortunate part of living in Arizona. If they start eating eggs or chicks, you will have a problem. If you have a small child, don't let her wander the yard alone.

When a snake hides under a wood pile or in brush, flush it out using a CO2 fire extinguisher. They are cold blooded, and this does the trick every time.

Put golf balls and old light bulbs in the nest. It seems that snakes cannot tell them from eggs after the hen has sat on them. I think it is the smell. They will swallow them, and if they cannot disgorged them, it kills them.

Be careful with dead snakes. Resist the temptation to skin them. Some are ova viviperous. They keep the eggs within their bodies and the little ones hatch within the mother's body. You could still end up with a batch of little rattlers.

Good luck and be careful.

Rufus

BellLisamo · May 7, 2009

Quote:oh my goodness!!!!!!!! i did not know all of this!!! so the snake can get up in the nest box and eat the eggs?? I have no idea where it went... i wish i would have killed it....

is it ok if the chickens eat the snake?

texaschickmama · May 7, 2009

I would not recommend the light bulb trick. If the bulb happens to fall out and break it could cut your chickens feet all up and make a huge mess. Use a plastic easter egg filled with sand. A lot cheaper and this works, I've done it. Slows the snake down and eventually kills it. Keep a close eye on your daughter. It's that time of year for snakes to come out.

BellLisamo · May 7, 2009

I NEED TO SHARPEN THE SHOVEL!!!!!!

I saw him again.... tried to chop him with the shovel....NOPE, this snake is indestructable! (He was also underneath a board that is the bottom of my nest boxes). He went under and out the back of the coop. SOOOOOOO tomorrow i will go out there with a hoe, a sharp one!

Terry · May 8, 2009

Last week I went out to feed and water and guess what I see???
A dad gum snake coiled over a nice nest of eggs and one 1/2 in it's mouth!!!
I knew I need help with this one so I went in to get hubby to help get it out. It ended up being 5 foot long w/o head
I put rocks all around the bottom and continue to pile them up.
I think the worse one tho was the tug of war I had with a 6 footer and my chicken a couple of yrs ago I won and chicken is fine
Thank goodness
I was thinking about putting crushed shells around the perimeter of the coops. I heard they don't like to go over it. Worth a try right?
I just need to find where I can get a truck load lol
Good luck finding that Keep us posted.