Warning!! Rat Snake Kills 5 Week Old Chick

[misty51]

Went out to my coop this morning and found rat snake next to my dead 5 week old chick. Apparently he tried to eat it and it was to large so he reguritated it back up. So sad.
So everyone watch out for snakes they do kill baby chicks.

 

[kesali]

My chicks are 5 weeks old now and I figured they were fairly safe from snakes around here. Guess not. I have them in a pretty secure coop/run, but snakes are able to get into the smallest forgotten niches.

 

[bryan99705]

If snakes are a big issue in your area, someone is using minnow traps with great success and they are trapped live so you can relocate, if you must

 

[stilldeb]

I have just heard of what they say is a great thing for snakes. Bird netting from the garden store, like what you would put over fruit trees to keep birds away. Put it around the ground around your coop. The snakes get trapped in it. I just bought a huge roll of it. I hate snakes and would be totally heartsick if one killed my chickens.

deb g

 

[misty51]

Thanks I am going to try the bird netting and I liked the minnow trap idea also. But any snake I find around or in the coop I am going to kill, sorry everyone. 2 weeks ago we found a rat snake in the coop with the baby chicks but their mother was in there with them and when we went out in the morning the snake was still in there with peck marks on him, so we relocated him about 1/4 mile away. This snake today looked about the same size. Same snake? Anyway the chicks are going in a cage in a spare room off our garage at night until they are bigger. Their mom stopped being a mom on Monday, maybe if she had been in there she would have been able to fight him off. I have found raising chicks to be so joyful and hearbreaking at the same time.

 

[silkiechicken]

One thing to consider though, if it is just a rat snake, you might end up with a rat problem if you take them all out... and rats also kill chicks.

 

[howfunkyisurchicken]

I had to kill my first non-venemous snake last week. I usually relocate them to keep them safe from my chickens. This one had done the same thing. Swallowed my poor 5 week old cochin to the shoulders and killed it before it realized its meal choice was too big. I was so upset I couldn't stand to let it live. So now I've started killing any I find near my coop and moving the ones I find elsewhere in the yard. I really hate to kill them, but hate to loose chicks (and money) even more. My solution seems to be working for now. Good luck, and sorry about your chick.

 

[kimbrough]

Well here is an update for you. I have lost 6 chicks in just over a week. Could not figure it out until I found a dead chick that was slimy up to the shoulders... That pretty much told me it was a snake but I didn't think it could eat it five week old chicks. But when I went into the coop a couple of days ago at 7 ft rat snake with a big pot belly fell on me as I opened the door. So I killed it. Two days later another chick missing another snake with a pot belly. I typically relocate the snakes, but if they're in there eating chickens their time is up. We've had chickens in that same house for years with no problem other than rat snakes eating eggs.

 

[kimbrough]

Well here is an update for you. I have lost 6 chicks in just over a week. Could not figure it out until I found a dead chick that was slimy up to the shoulders... That pretty much told me it was a snake but I didn't think it could eat it five week old chicks. But when I went into the coop a couple of days ago at 7 ft rat snake with a big pot belly fell on me as I opened the door. So I killed it. Two days later another chick missing another snake with a pot belly. I typically relocate the snakes, but if they're in there eating chickens their time is up. We've had chickens in that same house for years with no problem other than rat snakes eating eggs.

 

[kimbrough]

Here is the second snake...this one is only 5 feet long. In the period of just a couple hours the chick is well along the digestive tract.