Snakes - Waaaaaay Too Many Snakes

[LuckyDozen Farm]

Here's how you catch a snake.

Step One: Get a fresh egg and drill a small hole in it..

Step two: Get some 50 lb fishing line and tie it to something strong in the chicken house.

Step Three: tie a medium sized fish hook to the string and gently insert the hook into the egg.

The snake will eat the egg whole and when he crushes the egg shell inside this will expose the hook. The hook will be buried about halfway down the snake and he wont be able to get away. Usually by the time the snake is found its dead.

Done deal...

 

[pringle]

Quote:
Or if you don't want to kill the snake get a dead mouse, tie some fishing line to the tail and have the snake eat that and he wont be able to get away,once u catch him just snip the line.

 

[gjensen]

I will say this again, and this is not a judgement (so please be open minded and consider this); the best way to keep snakes or any predator out of your chicken housing is to build or modify the housing as to exclude the snake. I mentioned this earlier in the thread, and the reply from the original post was reasons that that would not be practical. To me she identified the items that needed to be adressed. To imply that this is not practical is to assume that these snakes are intelligent animals that defy our best efforts.
I will concede that to me a rat snake (elaphe obsoleta, and the our most notorious egg eater) in my chicken houses would be an inconveniance and I would simply relocate it. I am not concerned whether or not one would enter, except that I have my brooder boxes snake proof. Still it troubles me that, we would resort to such drastic and inhumane methods to exclude a concern that would be easier to address (in most cases) with some fore sight, a little elbow grease, or maybe a couple dollars and a few beads of sweat. Other than bears, predators are not that hard to prevent from entering into the poultry enclosures. Birds that are allowed to range outside of their enclosures are subject to a degree of risk and may or may not be manageable depending on the conditions.
As far as fake eggs to kill the snakes, do you really want any animal to die in such a manner? IF it is necessary to kill a predator rather than to prevent it's efforts (us being the higher thinker) are we not capable of doing it in a better and faster way? That is the same for nets, etc. I am familiar with studies that have ruled out products like snake away, mothballs etc. that have conclude that they are not effective. It easy to come to the conclusion that they are when it is not likely that another snake will enter the area in the near future. It is also difficult do disprove their effectiveness, and many people are so irrationaly afraid of animals that they are so much larger than that the products continue to be sold.
This reply is to new chicken keepers that dislike snakes, and live where they frequent. Modify your coops to exclude them and forget about it. The problem or potential of goes away. This goes for most predators.

 

[wonderpup]

Quote:
I would have to agree as a new chicken keeper with the advice to prevent rather than kill if you can. I haven't dealt with many issues with chickens yet so maybe over time my opinion will change? We just found an oak snake in our coop two days ago and I was logging onto this part of the forum looking for advice on how to prevent snakes from entering. I see exactly how our snake friend got into the coop and we'll be fixing that asap. If you HAVE to kill a a snake I feel like it's better to make it quick. Not only is it more humane, and come on these ARE living creatures, but it's also more efficient. At the time we were unsure what type of snake we were dealing with and my husband elected to kill it. He shot it once through the head, done deal, and I can't say for sure if the snake felt anything but if it did it didn't feel much for very long. Not like what would happen to it in some of the other methods described here that are just kind of cruel sounding. Now that we know what an oak snake (aka a rat snake) is and what it looks like and that it isn't after anything but eggs and isn't dangerous we'll do our very best to make sure our coop is as snake proof as we can make it. If we fail in that we'll just relocate it assuming it's not to aggressive to do so. An dangerous snake, well that one will have to go to snake heaven I'm afraid. I have to draw a line there, but it'd be dispatched in the most humane way I have available. My chickens are pets so I'm not worried if we lose an egg here or there. Annoying yes, but it doesn't effect us I guess like it could if somebody were selling eggs??

 

[colebarnhart]

Agree with above. The answer to almost all predator issues always comes back to coop/run construction, design, and security. You can trap all you want and kill or relocate, but the problem will never get fixed, unless the chic security is increased. I'm not a PETA member by any stretch of the imagination, I'm just saying that the truth is predators also kill and eat other predators, if you get rid of one then another will pop up, so unless you want for example a rat problem, leave the snakes, possiums, raccoons alone and get busy with fixing the real issue.

 

[effie]

I tend to agree---and I am a real snake hater---bumping into one unexpectantly has made me actually throw up because it scared me so bad--SO-my new coop being built is gonna be snakeproof(along with mice and rats). Not only do I not want one eating eggs or babies-I DON'T EVEN WANT TO SEE ONE!!!!!!!!! new coop 3 feet off the ground so they can have the shade during the day under it--they will be sent outside after all eggs are laid-around 10:00am. ish and the door SHUT!!!!! Food and water outside till they come in in the evening-then the door shut again!!! What goes on in the run will be dealt with--I tell my husband I have my space and they better stay out of it--with the dog being bit 4 times with copperheads I won't mess around with them. The netting looks like a good idea but I wouldn't have wanted to take that six footer down and deal with him either!!! I think keeping everything mowed and clean around the coop area is a must too---the more junk you have sitting around the more homes you make for these guys..as of now my girls are in an old horse stall and I have snakeproofed it as well as I could-rats were digging under so the snakes could use those tunnels-I think I have them eradicated for the moment and remember--spray foam can be your friend!!!

 

[lucky10]

I know this is crazy but ducks eat snake babies and small snakes! Get like two ducks and that can help. Try and make sure there are no holes in the coop, so when you lock them up at night (with doors over any chicken doors) none will get in over night. DO NOT use poison. If your chickens find it and eat it, they will die.

 

[Louieandthecrew]

Quote:
I would have to agree as a new chicken keeper with the advice to prevent rather than kill if you can. I haven't dealt with many issues with chickens yet so maybe over time my opinion will change? We just found an oak snake in our coop two days ago and I was logging onto this part of the forum looking for advice on how to prevent snakes from entering. I see exactly how our snake friend got into the coop and we'll be fixing that asap. If you HAVE to kill a a snake I feel like it's better to make it quick. Not only is it more humane, and come on these ARE living creatures, but it's also more efficient. At the time we were unsure what type of snake we were dealing with and my husband elected to kill it. He shot it once through the head, done deal, and I can't say for sure if the snake felt anything but if it did it didn't feel much for very long. Not like what would happen to it in some of the other methods described here that are just kind of cruel sounding. Now that we know what an oak snake (aka a rat snake) is and what it looks like and that it isn't after anything but eggs and isn't dangerous we'll do our very best to make sure our coop is as snake proof as we can make it. If we fail in that we'll just relocate it assuming it's not to aggressive to do so. An dangerous snake, well that one will have to go to snake heaven I'm afraid. I have to draw a line there, but it'd be dispatched in the most humane way I have available. My chickens are pets so I'm not worried if we lose an egg here or there. Annoying yes, but it doesn't effect us I guess like it could if somebody were selling eggs??

You see, I agree with both of you in certain ways, but I need to make it clear that rebuilding or changing anything about the build of my coop is not an option. The people that built this coop put so much work into it that I don't want to go up and tell them that they didn't do good enough for my birds to need to rebuild it. This coop was a gift to me and I don't want to just take advantage of the people that gave it to me. I do NOT mean to sound mad or anything, I just need you all to know that.
I agree that I shouldn't be cruel to these snakes, but I really have to admit that I don't care about how they die or how we get rid of them, but I just don't want them in my coop.

 

[Louieandthecrew]

Quote:
As I said above, reconstruction is NOT an option for me. But thank you for all of the ideas!

 

[LuckyDozen Farm]

Well my method was for anyone wanting to get rid of the snakes on a permanent basis. I realize that not everyone is from Texas (where we have 2 of the most venomous snakes in North America.) Diamondback rattlesnakes are as common as rocks here. You get bitten by one and you will probably lose your leg by the time you make it to the hospital. We live 100 miles to the nearest ER. I carry a pistol at ALL TIMES on the ranch, just for that reason. Are you people raising chickens or snakes?? Which is it, because you can't have both in the same hen-house. I guess if you don't mind feeding expensive feed, building elaborate chicken houses, vet bills for your chickens (which is another crazy notion, but for another time), just to have the snakes clean you out, then by all means let the snakes eat all the chickens they want. Snakes have to eat too I suppose.




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