YO GEORGIANS! :)

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Lynn79 said:

This is my little wheel-less chicken tractor my hubby built for me. Light enough that I just drag it around the yard lol. And with the windows I can look for snakes before I reach in :)
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Good idea! I've seen my share of snakes in nest boxes already! They were King Snakes, but still. NOT MY EGGS, D*MN IT!
 
ChickDancer said:
Good ideas I've seen my share of snakes in nest boxes already! They were King Snakes, but still. NOT MY EGGS, D*MN IT!
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Knock on wood, but I seem to have made may coops very snake - resistant when I made them canine proof. I have only seen one huge rat snake, Last year, and it was headed for my turkey eggs. My husband ran that one over with the tractor by accident and we haven't seen anything since.
 
Luckily I have not had one in with the chickens, yet! But we live on the water and have lots of snakes out here, so it's really just a matter of time I'm afraid. I asked the hubby if he's going to be mad when I shoot one of the windows out when I see a snake in there haha
 
mrsdszoo said:
Knock on wood, but I seem to have made may coops very snake - resistant when I made them canine proof. I have only seen one huge rat snake, Last year, and it was headed for my turkey eggs. My husband ran that one over with the tractor by accident and we haven't seen anything since.
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Keeping mice from being attracted to the water/food will also help keep snakes away. In the last 5 years I have only seen snakes in the yard a few times, all during one summer (large timber rattler a couple of times and a copperhead another time that summer). It happened just as I had a field mouse problem for the first time and it is very likely the mice are what attracted them. First occurence was at 11 pm when the dogs alerted to an "intruder" in the yard and I freaked out when I heard the rattling, I learned they often hunt at night so I was a bit more cautious when trampling around the yard in the dark!

Snakes can pick up on rodent trails and follow them for quite a distance. I keep a couple of captive bred garter snakes as pets so I have no desire to harm the ones that accidentally wander into the yard, when the rattler and the copperhead showed up I gathered up the dogs quickly and the snakes left as fast as they could!

FYI killing non-venomous reptiles is illegal in GA. Accidental deaths are one thing however all native non-venomous reptiles are protected by GA state law.

My coop has a sealed floor, a tightly fit door, and also a small 6 x 8 dog run attached with 1/2 inch hardwire cloth to keep rodents OUT at night (the chickens have a 40 x 40 foot pen made of 2" x 4" welded wire to entertain them during the day).

Pic of young copperhead from 2 years ago, being a snake owner I ran out with the camera as soon as the dogs were safely inside, also have pics of the timber rattler (large) but cant find them now:

 
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Sonya9 said:
Keeping mice from being attracted to the water/food will also help keep snakes away. In the last 5 years I have only seen snakes in the yard a few times, all during one summer (large timber rattler a couple of times and a copperhead another time that summer). It happened just as I had a field mouse problem for the first time and it is very likely the mice are what attracted them. First occurence was at 11 pm when the dogs alerted to an "intruder" in the yard and I freaked out when I heard the rattling, I learned they often hunt at night so I was a bit more cautious when trampling around the yard in the dark! Snakes can pick up on rodent trails and follow them for quite a distance. I keep a couple of captive bred garter snakes as pets so I have no desire to harm the ones that accidentally wander into the yard, when the rattler and the copperhead showed up I gathered up the dogs quickly and the snakes left as fast as they could! FYI killing non-venomous reptiles is illegal in GA. Accidental deaths are one thing however all native non-venomous reptiles are protected by GA state law. My coop has a sealed floor, a tightly fit door, and also a small 6 x 8 dog run attached with 1/2 inch hardwire cloth to keep rodents OUT at night (the chickens have a 40 x 40 foot pen made of 2" x 4" welded wire to entertain them during the day). Pic of young copperhead from 2 years ago, being a snake owner I ran out with the camera as soon as the dogs were safely inside, also have pics of the timber rattler (large) but cant find them now:
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I have two garter snakes as well. Not captive-bred but they are part of a 200-gallon capacity terrarium. Both were saved from the grasp of a chicken beak though! So it was either terrarium, or chicken gizzard!
 
ChickDancer said:
I have two garter snakes as well. Not captive-bred but they are part of a 200-gallon capacity terrarium. Both were saved from the grasp of a chicken beak though! So it was either terrarium, or chicken gizzard!
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Garters are awesome, aren't they? So busy and easy to feed. Once a year I order frozen pinkies from a place near Atlanta and it doesn't get any easier than that. I adore my two and if I see a snake in the yard I feel the same sense of care/concern for the wild ones.

Okay now I need to share a vid of my beautiful little eye candy serpents:

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Lynn79 said:

This is my little wheel-less chicken tractor my hubby built for me. Light enough that I just drag it around the yard lol. And with the windows I can look for snakes before I reach in :)
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Where do you hold on to it to move it? How long does it take for the chickens to mess up the grass?
 

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