So Upset, Crying. Snake Killed Chick :(

[Folly's place]

So sorry!
It's about having a predator proof coop so the birds are safe, not about trying to kill every one that gets into an unsafe coop. Hardware cloth everywhere! Any opening larger than 1/2" diameter will give access to rats and weasels, at least. And chicken wire only keeps the birds inside, not predators outside.
Most of us have learned the hard way about security, and have miserable stories to tell, while we improved our flock housing.
Again, I'm so sorry,
Mary

 

[Cj Tracker]

Thank you very much for taking the time to help me. We added hardwire all over now.

It gets expensive but it's worth it for the peace of mind.
Glad you got this in place. Good luck to the rest of the babies. I have 4 myself that are 6 weeks old now and roaming the yard at daytime when I'm out there with my dog and two cats.
I did buy sulfur and sprinkled it around the coop corners. Some swear by it but if something is hungry or has babies of their own like this time of year, I'm sure it won't stop them

 

[Cj Tracker]

It gets expensive but it's worth it for the peace of mind.
Glad you got this in place. Good luck to the rest of the babies. I have 4 myself that are 6 weeks old now and roaming the yard at daytime when I'm out there with my dog and two cats.
I did buy sulfur and sprinkled it around the coop corners. Some swear by it but if something is hungry or has babies of their own like this time of year, I'm sure it won't stop them

And I'm very sorry about the chick. Mine are like family and I'm watchful over my flock. It does hurt when something happens but you're doing all you can now take comfort in that

 

[TallGirl]

I'm new to posting but not new to the forum. I have spent hours and gained so much insight from so many of you! I joined today in hopes that something that I learned yesterday may help some of y'all like you have helped me!

This is something that I had sort of heard about in passing but until yesterday it didn't really click in my brain. Bird netting, if left loose, will catch snakes and prevent them from getting into the coop!

Last night I went out to check my bunnies and quail and up on top of the coop wrapped around a tree and completely tangled in bird netting was a big ol' (4.5') Texas Rat Snake. It's head was caught in the extra netting that I had kind of bunched up around the tree. I had planned to trim off the excess but just hadn't gotten around to it yet. I am so glad I didn't.

After that discovery and after the hour or so it took me to get up the guts to get the snake out of the netting, I started researching. Although, from what I can find, it doesn't appear to be very widely known, for those that do know and use it, swear by its effectiveness. I am going to add my name to that list and I plan to go get more netting to put around the base of my coop tomorrow. The key, from what I understand, is leaving it sort of loose and bunched up so that the snakes scales will catch on it.

Most of the info I found on this that addressed it in a purposeful way (not just a gardener talking about finding a snake caught in it as a random event) was from a forum for people who have the big bird houses up on poles for Martins or Bluebirds. They wrap it loosely up on the pole to prevent the snakes from getting to the eggs and newly hatched chicks.

The netting that I have is the 1/2" netting that is designed to go over fruit trees to protect the fruit from being eaten by the birds. I think I paid $14 for a 15'x20' roll of it.

I hope this helps someone save one of their beautiful flock!

 

[Folly's place]

Welcome, glad you joined us!
And this isn't meant to be personal at all, but while I agree that protecting the birds is important, deliberately entangling snakes is pretty rough on them. Not so good! As an accident is one thing, causing deliberate injury, bad news.
Mary

 

[TallGirl]

Mary, I do understand your concern and respect your opinion. I do my best to value and respect all life and am never intentionally cruel.

That being said, when considering options to protect eggs, hatchlings and flock into which many of us have invested considerable time, money, energy and emotion, I think that adding this as a line of defense is a viable option.

I did re-read my post to see if perhaps my description had been misleading and I do think that it may have been. When I said, "Bird netting, when left loose, will catch snakes and prevent them from getting into the coop." I didn't mean the words " left loose" as in hanging down to catch any snakes that happened to be passing by my coop/yard/neighborhood lol. I meant that it should be left loosely gathered in folds vs attached to the coop in a taunt way as hardware cloth or fencing would be.

Adding this netting around vulnerable spots like windows, doors or in this case, where a tree trunk exits the run, is, in my opinion, a great way to keep my animals safe. It is also a way to effectively trap both birds and snakes that would be a danger to my animals so that they can, if I so desire, be relocated and released.

The snake that was trapped by the netting was on its way to eat something that I hold dear. My excitement over it's inability to do so is not cruelty or disrespect for the value of its life.

 

[Mtnboomer]

I am sorry! Same thing happened to me this week. I have a Mama Hen with 3 ten day old chicks. I've been checking on them twice a day. Yesterday I opened up the coop door, and there was a big chicken snake in the coop. I grabbed it by its tail and slung it out. I tried to find something to kill the snake with, but it got away from me before I could. Mama Hen and chicks were all ok. However, today the snake came back and had to have killed and ate one of my babies because there was one chick that was totally gone. It was no where to be found. I ended up moving the Mama Hen and chicks to a more secure coop with hardware cloth. My opinion is to always kill the snake if you have babies because they will definitely kill them if they are able to get to them. I was heartbroken.

Never kill snakes. I catch black snakes and intentionally place them in my woodshed (adjacent to coop), garage, and well.house for rodent control. If i lose a chick ir an egg, whichi never have, so be it. The snakes are far more beneficial alive than dead.

 

[Mtnboomer]

I went outside to work in the garden after dinner tonight and a little wren was going crazy in the woodshed. The outside wall of the woodshed is the inside wall if my flight pen where i raise my pullets prior to joining the free range flock. On that wall the wren had built her nest. In that nest was a 6ft black snake who had just enjoyed its dinner as well.
I feel bad for the wren losing her young but that's life. I guess the broody with her chicks (expected to hatch any day) will have to be moved to the brooder for awhile instead of the flight pen until the chicks are bigger.

 

[Gizabelle]

@Lesleyhg Sorry you're going through this, I know the feeling well.

I am sooooo tired of the legions of white oak snakes (rat snake variant) in our area.
It seems like we loose at least one chick a year in spite of our best efforts to secure the coop. We've used hardware cloth, foamed holes, added trim pieces to all doors to try to cover the cracks... everything short of voodoo, but somehow they still find a way in.
I try to remember that they are an important part of the ecosystem here and its because of these guys that we see so few venomous snakes... But its REALLY tough to feel grateful for that when there's a half swallowed/regurgitated 6 week old pullet in the coop that the snake was CLEARLY incapable of eating to begin with.
Nevertheless, we always try to catch and relocate. A trip of a mile and a half (and across a river) is our go-to.

@dawg53 Thanks for the suggestions and pics, we're building a new coop this summer. DH is a builder/contractor and we've been discussing hardware cloth and snake proofing from the framing up.
Who knew with all the predators out there, a "harmless" little oak snake would be our most despised.

 

[Gizabelle]

A word of caution though... until you have a completely secure set-up, you NEED to catch them and and take them FAR away. (We drop them at the back edge of a local game preserve) If you let them stay they WILL come back. I have heard horror stories of a single snake killing almost an entire brood because they were too big to swallow. Snake tries the first one... oops, too big, maybe the next one... and so-on, you get the picture. Snakes just see a good opportunity for a meal and won't give up just because the first one didn't work out.