Thought I would post this. In the last seven days I have had at least four snakes in my chicken yard. Four snakes that had to be killed because they were caught up in the bird netting, chicken wire and chain link fence.
When we added on my DH was out of town so I did what I could. I did not feel the chain link would keep everything out so I covered it from the bottom with chicken wire...making a bit of a skirt that I buried. Then I had some left over bird netting that I put over the chicken wire for 'just in case'. All the sudden after all the rains we have snakes were showing up. STUCK in the chicken wire and bird netting. One was about two feet up off the ground twisted and stuck in between and through the chicken wire, chain link and bird netting. The other three were closer to the ground but tangled up in the wire and bird netting unable to escape. Plus, we had some snow fencing that we used to cover a 'between' area when we were planning to integrate some chickens from one run to another. We give them a couple of weeks of facetime before we put them together. That snow fencing was on top of a small coop and had blown off during some rain and wind. So it was hanging off the coop to the ground. The snake that got in that was tangled in it as well as the bird netting.
So, I am saying with all this, that bird netting has a great use if you live out in the country and have snakes. I am amazed at the four snakes in seven days but more than that the snakes were trapped in the wire and netting. Two were not poisonous but were so hung up that I had to kill them to get them out. One I could not identify. But the fourth was a good sized copperhead.
I will be adding more bird netting around my runs....for 'just in case'. And I sure won't be reaching my hand into a nest that I cannot see into. I have wire over all my runs except one and it has bird netting over it.
When we added on my DH was out of town so I did what I could. I did not feel the chain link would keep everything out so I covered it from the bottom with chicken wire...making a bit of a skirt that I buried. Then I had some left over bird netting that I put over the chicken wire for 'just in case'. All the sudden after all the rains we have snakes were showing up. STUCK in the chicken wire and bird netting. One was about two feet up off the ground twisted and stuck in between and through the chicken wire, chain link and bird netting. The other three were closer to the ground but tangled up in the wire and bird netting unable to escape. Plus, we had some snow fencing that we used to cover a 'between' area when we were planning to integrate some chickens from one run to another. We give them a couple of weeks of facetime before we put them together. That snow fencing was on top of a small coop and had blown off during some rain and wind. So it was hanging off the coop to the ground. The snake that got in that was tangled in it as well as the bird netting.
So, I am saying with all this, that bird netting has a great use if you live out in the country and have snakes. I am amazed at the four snakes in seven days but more than that the snakes were trapped in the wire and netting. Two were not poisonous but were so hung up that I had to kill them to get them out. One I could not identify. But the fourth was a good sized copperhead.
I will be adding more bird netting around my runs....for 'just in case'. And I sure won't be reaching my hand into a nest that I cannot see into. I have wire over all my runs except one and it has bird netting over it.
