Snakes and eggs

[lonwolf32]

So, I have a small Free - range flock. Despite their wanderings, they have always returned 2 to their coop to lay. About 2 weeks ago we discovered a large black snake feasting on the days egg output. Since then, the chickens won't lay in the coop, not even if they're confined to it. Could this be a result of the snake's scent? Has anyone else had this problem?

 

[SueT]

Oh gosh. There have been many threads on black snakes eating eggs, but I don't know if anyone had one deter hens from using nests. If you could catch it and relocate it far away, maybe they'd know it was gone? Be careful, black snakes bite, tho they aren't venomous...
Good luck!

 

[aart]

Welcome to BYC!

Yeah, they can be scared off by a snake,
not necessarily from it's lingering scent,
but they may have encountered it face to face.

Can the snake still get in when the girls are 'confined'?

 

[JerryC999]

Found this guy in the coop tonight while collecting eggs. I don't mind snakes, but I can't have this guy interfering. Do I take some action, or will he just move on?

 

[Zoomie]

Found this guy in the coop tonight while collecting eggs. I don't mind snakes, but I can't have this guy interfering. Do I take some action, or will he just move on?
View attachment 1110892

He will hang around a steady food source like that. You could relocate him... but the most permanent solution is to tighten things up so you don't get snakes, because that will not be the only snake in your area. I like snakes because they keep down the mice and rats and other pests in the garden, so I choose to just tighten up the coop. So far this has worked for me.

 

[Jessicx]

I've encountered two different snakes stealing the eggs. The first one I killed because he was enormous. The second one got "caught" in the coop just as the girls began to roost. When I went to lock them in, I found the girls roosting above a snake that appeared to be scared out of its mind. They couldn't have cared less (possibly because they couldn't see him), until I tried to remove him. Once I did, he never came back. Funny thing....he went into the coop to steal an egg, and left with a ceramic one

 

[JerryC999]

I think the coop is tight enough if closed, but I don't keep it closed. I always leave one door open to the enclosed run. I guess I could start closing that one at night, but this guy was there at 5 pm - it was still daylight and the chickens were still out.

I won't kill it unless this gets unmanageable because I like snakes around in general. Could get a rooster, but that would be a tough tradeoff of peace and quiet for some security. A decoy coop full of plastic eggs - maybe that would do it!

 

[Sara Ranch]

I'm sorta dealing with the same issue. (Wrote a post about it - Peed. My. Pants.)

Two days later, caught the snake and relocated it to the edge of the property. I was checking for eggs every 10-15 minutes that day. Egg count still way down.

The following day - after snake relocation - I had such high hopes for a higher egg count. Nope. Egg count was WAY down...even more. I have gone from 26-27 eggs a day down to 6. No one is molting. No infections that I am aware of. It's been raining last two days so that might account for a small decrease, but not to the numbers I am seeing!

Figured out the snake is getting in through the metal roof. I can't seal that up. It's just the design of a metal roof. I know the snake has friends with benefits and they all sleep together, but I have no clue where the nest is.

I ordered a new building to be delivered THAT is sealed up - so no snake can slither in through the roof. Hoping it's delivered this week. Then I will move the girls into it asap and modify the shed to be predator proof.

Soo....keep looking for more snakes. They are probably around. Figure out how he's getting into the run/the coop. Seal up the entry point(s) if you can. The nesting box I found the snake in? I have a girl that sleeps in it every night. Apparently the smell doesn't bother her. Of course, her poop smell may drown it out. (In the new building, the girls will not be allowed to sleep in the nesting box. But for now, if that is what she needs to feel safe, ok.)

 

[Jessicx]

I've been reading about snake repellents....some people hang mothballs around the coop, although I'm not sure I'd recommend as they are deadly poisonous. There are a number of plants or essential oils, but I imagine those would deter chickens as well as snakes. It appears the only thing you can do is close the door during the day so nothing gets in. The only problem I've found with this is that it for any reason I can't get back there to open the door at sundown, I'm all over hell and back trying to find my chickens.

 

[CapricornFarm]

Oh gosh. There have been many threads on black snakes eating eggs, but I don't know if anyone had one deter hens from using nests. If you could catch it and relocate it far away, maybe they'd know it was gone? Be careful, black snakes bite, tho they aren't venomous...
Good luck!

Not all black snakes bite like Black Racers. We had two King snakes either eat or try to eat my young guineas. I caught both of the snakes and relocated them. They will eat poisonous snakes.