Chicken snakes

[Lammie]

I have shot three since Saturday. One was in the act of suffocating a chick, ( I know, choking the chicken!), and the other two here curled up in nesting boxes in my Barred Rock cage last night. Naturally, I almost "gathered" them when I was collecting eggs. Shot one and thought we were done, then we found another one right next to it. It is all a bit too much for me. I hate snakes!!!!

Have any of you tried mothballs? I have heard that they will keep snakes away.

They were all about 5 feet long! Black and yellow. Those are chicked snakes, right? I usually get one or two a year, but three since Saturday? No wonder my eggs are all gone missing.

 

[flaboy-]

I think the real name is Yellow Rat snake but we call them chicken snakes also. Dang things will scare the devil out of you. I sometimes open my old shop door and they fall down from above. They get killed shortly after that.

I had a large crop of black snakes hatch in my backyard a couple years ago. I had black snakes everywhere. I came home one night and caught 4 and hauled them off. I caught the two the next night and hauled them off too. They keep the bad snakes away but I had way too many around.

 

[Caustic Burno]

I have shot three since Saturday. One was in the act of suffocating a chick, ( I know, choking the chicken!), and the other two here curled up in nesting boxes in my Barred Rock cage last night. Naturally, I almost "gathered" them when I was collecting eggs. Shot one and thought we were done, then we found another one right next to it. It is all a bit too much for me. I hate snakes!!!!

Have any of you tried mothballs? I have heard that they will keep snakes away.

They were all about 5 feet long! Black and yellow. Those are chicked snakes, right? I usually get one or two a year, but three since Saturday? No wonder my eggs are all gone missing.

Well when you set up a buffet like Lubby's for chicken snakes what do expect. Best thing I have found for them is glass eggs and light bulbs.

 

[Bullbuyer]

Mothballs won't work either. Tried them one time in an old well pump building - I think the snakes liked 'em. Only thing for sure is to take 'em out. Read some university research about a year ago on the subject - seems that nothing really works all that well - including the stuff that is available commercially.

 

[Lammie]

I have shot three since Saturday. One was in the act of suffocating a chick, ( I know, choking the chicken!), and the other two here curled up in nesting boxes in my Barred Rock cage last night. Naturally, I almost "gathered" them when I was collecting eggs. Shot one and thought we were done, then we found another one right next to it. It is all a bit too much for me. I hate snakes!!!!

Have any of you tried mothballs? I have heard that they will keep snakes away.

They were all about 5 feet long! Black and yellow. Those are chicked snakes, right? I usually get one or two a year, but three since Saturday? No wonder my eggs are all gone missing.

Well when you set up a buffet like Lubby's for chicken snakes what do expect. Best thing I have found for them is glass eggs and light bulbs.

Tried glass eggs before. I found one later in the flower bed and it smelled so fowl the only thing I could figure is that he swallowed it and threw it up again. I know they have swallowed golf balls, too. I will try light bulbs. Good suggestion, CB. Thanks.

I have had range chickens this year, one that started out with 12 biddies and now has 4. I guess snakes are going to be bad. I don't really hate them, as they have their place in controlling rodents and all. I just want them to stay afield and leave me and my chickens alone. All they have to do is hang out in the barn! There are mice aplenty there!

 

[Lammie]

I can't help it, CB, if I like fresh eggs! Never know how long those eggs have been sitting in the store, and I like knowing where my food comes from as much as I can. I love those big brown eggs!

 

[cypressfarms]

We call them king snakes here. They will eat other snakes, as well as mice, rats, and if you give them a buffet, chickens.

 

[Beefy]

we have every kind of snake you can imagine. i like the king snakes and the rat snakes, aka oak snakes (what i think yall are calling chicken snakes?). black racers are the ones that give me a heart attack. lol.

 

[ROCKSPRINGS]

We call them coachwhips. They eat anything that wont eat them first. Have seen them in trees raiding bird nest. Around here they are tan with light black bands. They are black in different areas of the country.