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.
