Snakes!!

[kansasgirlinutah]

Just out in the backyard and found a 2 foot snake. Our chickens don't have a permanent coop yet, just a portable greenhouse and they free-range during the day. They don't lay yet, but when they do, will I need to worry about snakes? Does hardware cloth stop snakes?

 

[bryan99705]

Snake is too small to be a threat but I would have killed it because I hate snakes. Yes, hardware cloth will stop a snake as would deer fence / fruit tree netting if that's the only critter you're fighting

 

[farmgirlforever18]

Snakes will eat the eggs and may try to eat the chickens as long as the wire is too small for the snake to fit thru then it should work

 

[Vitesse304]

A 2 ft. long snake will pose no threat to regular chickens. Maybe to chicks, but I doubt it. The snake has more to fear from the chickens! I've seen chickens tear up some pretty big snakes!

 

[kansasgirlinutah]

Thank you for your responses. Puts my mind to rest. I will not kill the snake because we have a huge field behind our house so he/she will help keep control of the mice or rats that might wander by. ;-)

 

[aggie9296]

A 2 foot non-poisonous snake is nice to keep rats and other varmits down. A 2 foot poisonous snake in my yard would be relocated to somewhere else.

Hardware cloth (1/2) would keep snakes of any size out of the coop. Might get between some cracks in boards though. I always look in the nest box before I put my hand in there. Just in case.

 

[FiveAcres]

Sorry but I would deal with the mice, etc before dealing with a snake... That 2 foot snake would be relocated to the bottom of a two foot hole....

 

[greenbottle27]

Quote:
I concur.

 

[angry gary]

i welcome snakes on our property. i currently have a 4-5 foot black snake somewhere. i know he is here because of two clues. 1) i find his sheddings al least twice a year and, 2) i have not seen mice and have not seen any rattlesnakes in several years now. i know he is keeping them either away or eating them.
i have hardware mesh around my coop so i am not worried about them eating chickens or eggs.. i am more worried about a small child getting bit by a rattler.

having grown up in south carolina with my grandmother and watching most people down there kill every snake they see, i now know the full benefit of certain snakes. i will not kill ANY snake i see or come across. if i cannot get out of their way then i will capture and relocate them.

AG

 

[MoonAngel12]

I actually just relocated a 5+ ft black rat snake yesterday. We have seen it a few times the last few years, but it has discovered the joys of eggs and wouldn't stay out of the coop! I went from an avg of 4 per day, to maybe 1 or 2 if I was lucky - some days there weren't any! I wanted to keep it around b/c I hate mice more than snakes, but then I started noticing more mice and fewer eggs so I think it was going for the easier meal?? It was just a black rat so not venomous, but pretty aggressive none the less. My dad was helping me round it up yesterday and almost got bit (doing something dumb, but that's beside the point). We took it down to the woods by our church and let it go... it's about 3/4 of a mile away so I doubt he'll make it back, but who knows!