SNAKE, SNAKE, BIG SNAKE (PICS)

[Daisymay]

That badger thing made my day! Here is a site that talks about both black rat snakes and black racer snakes. http://www.snakesandfrogs.com/scra/snakes/racer.htm Very interesting. You should be able to tell which on you have by the way it moves when startled and it's size.

Pretty snake!

 

[theOEGBman]

Oh wow,

That snake is gorgeous! I own snakes, no killin em for me,lol. Good luck, I hope you dont have to use a shovel any time soon.

 

[hdchic]

Sorry, but I'm with the DH on this one...staying in the house 'til that thing is GONE!!

 

[chickorama]

If you ever see it again, I think you should kill it and feed it to you chickens. I wouldn't risk it eating eggs or chicks. If you ask me, rats are better to have around chickens than snakes, because rats only eat eggs, whereas snakes might eat your babies

. Also, if you aren't sure what kind of snake it is, it might bite you, your neighbors, or whoever you live with. You might as well give an extra snack to your girls, and that way your chicks and your eggs won't be in any danger.

 

[ginbart]

Sorry I won't kill it. I'm not into killing animals only if they are in pain. (or rats) I will keep moving it out of the way. I don't have any little babies now and my chickens are not laying yet.

If I see it killed one of my chickens then we will be having it for supper. No sense in letting good meat go to waste.

NOW if I see a rat, it's dead. I hate rats!!!!!

 

[CUDA]

We call them snakes blue racers around here, and yes, they get quite long. I caught this rat snake down by my pens the other day, I just took him down the road, and let him go.

 

[ginbart]

Nice snake

 

[chilling in muscadine]

I'm a professional snake handler and if you have to catch the snake don't try penning it's neck down or anything. You can hurt the snake. All snake's thump there tail's like a rattler so don't be alarmed if this happens. To catch the snake I would take a bucket and turn it on it's side. Move very slow because snake's respond to heat even body heat. Have the bucket near the head. You could then take a stick and push the end of the snake, just a little nudge and the snake should see the bucket as a way to escape. Snake's are more afraid of us then we are of them. If your not afraid of the snake then very slowly pick it up by the tail and aim it's head for the bucket. The snake will be looking for an escape. Make sure you have a lid to the bucket. lol Snake's are going to hang out where there is a food sourse for sure. Rat's are attracted to chicken feed. Black snake's are rat snake's will eat other snake's including venomous snake's. Some people think these snake's keep venomous snake's away but this isn't true. Other snake's are part of there diet, that's where this info come's from. Also these type's of snake's have there young in august. These type's of snake's are well known to be egg eater's. You will probable have to relocate. A snake can fit through the tiniest of place's to get to your egg's. A snake live's it's whole life in just a couple of mile's radious but if it has a good food source it's there to stay. If you do relocate and you can't get the snake in the bucket the way I mentioned earlier try taking something like a golf club and picking the snake up in the middle of it's body and then placing it in the bucket. Make sure you don't leave the snake in the sun and that there are hole's for it to get air until you can relocate. I've been on hundred's of snake removal call's and have a lot of experience in this area. You will have to decide if having the snake there is better than being over run with rat's, although if the snake is getting baby chick's it would have to go in my book. pm me if I can help you any more.

 

[Akane]

Looks about average size for the ones around here. I pull ones that size though off my driveway before leaving in the morning at least weekly. I usually move them with a stick and holding their tails. There was an 8' one that went through the yard last year and I pulled up a skin near the creek that was double my own body length (5' 3"). They are much better than having rats. Those suckers dug out all around the buildings, tunneled through compacted ag lime, under concrete barriers, under the concrete floor in the middle of the horse stable, destroyed all the feed, tore apart several bales of hay, and just got into absolutely everywhere no matter how sealed it was. They would definitely have wiped out a flock of chickens if we'd had any then. I would gladly give up the occasional egg to keep a rat snake around instead of the rats and mice. Far less destructive. I did cover my coop windows in metal panels with 1" square openings and then stapled screen door mesh over that so nothing is getting in when the coop door is shut even if the windows are wide open.

 

[Beekissed]

I like the black snakes! In your case, with no eggs and no babies, I think you made the right choice. Of course, if you eliminate the easy food source, they may just leave on their own. I leave poison for the rats and mice that the cat can't get to. I can't afford to feed the neighborhood rodents, as well as chickens.

Also, I've heard a snake can just about get in anywhere they wish, so I don't think hardware cloth is going to do it. Black snakes are terrific climbers! One was climbing up a tree in our yard to get to a bluebird house. No limbs on this tree for about 20 ft. up and he shinnied right up there! I knocked him down with a rock and picked him up by the tail....he was not pleased. He was about the same size as yours. I just carried him over to the woods and set him free....he can eat the baby birds some other day, but not on my watch!