What's worse than NOT finding an egg in the nestbox?

[WisconsinChick]

so that snake is gone, but when you get mice, (which are WAY, 100 times worse!) you'll know why.

 

[hippichick]

I have a couple of barn cats who pretty much take care of the mice. They also do away with the snakes if they're small enough.

 

[WisconsinChick]

Quote:
ya, but does the OP have cats?

 

[Shared Acres]

Ugh, I'm glad someone mentioned the moth balls are neighbors use them and I was wondering if it would bother the other animals.

 

[hippichick]

Quote:
ya, but does the OP have cats?

Don't know, but maybe she should consider getting one or two, if possible.

 

[clarkestep]

No cats here, but my neighbor around the corner has a ton (needs to get them fixed, but that's another story) and sometimes they come over.

As far as just killing any old snake, I don't mind for there to be the non poisonous ones around. I don't want them in my coop though, especially when I don't know the difference between them and the poisonous ones while I'm freaking out. Well, I do know that the poisonous ones have a diamond shaped head and pits under their eyes, but my DH wasn't home to check it out and I wasn't about to get too close myself.

In our area we have copperheads, cottonmouths (I think they are black with a white mouth), and rattlesnakes. I somewhat know what a copperhead looks like, but not a cottonmouth. The snake I saw was black and had the diamonds on his back and I didn't know what kind it was. If it is just a rat/chicken snake, then if it comes back I will just leave it and let DH get it out when he gets home.

Please don't think I'd just kill any old snake. I'm not a meanie, really.