Snake Slayer

[PinkMinnow]

We're new to raising chickens. We have six that we started from chicks. My wife is surprised by how much I have totally fallen in love with chickens. She thought she was going to have to do a bunch of work to care for them, but I usually beat her to it because I enjoy caring for them so much.

So maybe this isn't news to you, but I was surprised when I saw one of my chickens eat a baby snake. And not a teeny tiny baby...maybe about 8 inches long and a half inch wide. We've now see them eat THREE snakes about that size...my orpington grabs it and thrashes it, and then gobbles it down.

I don't know if I should be worried or not, but after eating three over the last couple of weeks, she is showing no issues. I guess that's part of free-ranging them. And normally I like snakes around here to keep rodents down, but I guess the chickens are being proactive and protecting their eggs from future predators.

My kids think it's hilarious and have given our orpington (named "May") the nickname "Snake Slayer".

 

[Farmgirl47]

That is funny! Yeah, it is totally normal for free-range chickens to eat snakes and the like. I used to have an Orpington who would eat the little moles our cats would catch (alive or dead). My chickens also love frogs.

 

[PinkMinnow]

Awww! Not the frogs! We've got lotsa frogs, and we like them. Keeping the bugs down. Bummer.

 

[texaschick84]

That's so funny. We are experiencing the same thing with our flock! We have a mix of breeds in our flock of 8 and over the past month, my girls have caught at least 7 small snakes just like you described. The really interesting part is that no matter who catches the snake, one of my buffs (I have two) always steals it from the other hens beaks, shakes it to kill it, and eats it. They are always keeping it interesting!