unwelcome visitor in the chicken coop

[Acdoctor]

Little rattle snake made a fatal error at my place today, his head fell off.

View attachment 88132

Would not have wanted to walk up on him in the dark for sure, would have been a bad day.

 

[hashbrown]

Would not have wanted to walk up on him in the dark for sure, would have been a bad day.

The first year I lived here i killed a total of 18 snakes all rattlesnakes and copperheads. In the last 15 years its only 3 or 4 a year now.

 

[Acdoctor]

The first year I lived here i killed a total of 18 snakes all rattlesnakes and copperheads. In the last 15 years its only 3 or 4 a year now.

im the same way, non poisonous live, poisonous got to go. I have a 6ft black snake that been here eight years, I don’t see very many copperheads around anymore, killed one timber rattler last year while seeding a food plot but that’s about it here.

 

[hashbrown]

im the same way, non poisonous live, poisonous got to go. I have a 6ft black snake that been here eight years, I don’t see very many copperheads around anymore, killed one timber rattler last year while seeding a food plot but that’s about it here.

Every King Snake or Black snake I see I catch them and bring them home with me. I came out a couple of weeks of go and Jake was throwing rocks at a copperhead I was afraid it was going to get away so I stomped the hell out of it.

 

[thankful_k]

Bye bye, snek!

If it steals eggs, it dies. No exceptions. Glad you were able to solve the problem without much hassle...

Agreed ... +1 for raccoons. I've had to smoke a few of those little [expletive]s. Nearly wiped out my flock .

I don't relish killing things, but you come to steal/kill/destroy .. you get what you get.

 

[Magus]

Get a half wildcat with cubs and put her up under the coop. they won't get near them! Might want to watch them when the chicks hatch though.

 

[Peanut]

Don't know how I missed this thread... This happened 4yrs ago... I caught a chicken snake actually trying to swallow and egg in a nest. Must have given him a bad case of indigestion.... he passed away.

(been wiped out twice by raccoons too so I know that frustration)

 

[Magus]

I know some fool proof coon bait if you have a box trap.
sardines. #2 being peanut butter#3 being honey.
raw oysters and chicken gizzards work quite well too.
catch the little creep and take him to where libroids live and kick him out!

I've made use of "Roscoe"(My resident trash diver.) anything the cats snub is his.

 

[Peanut]

I don't use box traps for raccoons. I use steel traps. One time I got wiped out I was gone when it started. Dad set a trap in a bad place, big weeds kept the jaws from closing. The raccoon got free but was now trap shy.... He got 12 more hens before I finally got him. He passed away also.

 

[thankful_k]

Don't know how I missed this thread... This happened 4yrs ago... I caught a chicken snake actually trying to swallow and egg in a nest. Must have given him a bad case of indigestion.... he passed away.

(been wiped out twice by raccoons too so I know that frustration)

Ha! I stabbed one with a BBQ fork once, LOL. I have a grabber now.

 

[thankful_k]

I know some fool proof coon bait if you have a box trap.
sardines. #2 being peanut butter#3 being honey.
raw oysters and chicken gizzards work quite well too.
catch the little creep and take him to where libroids live and kick him out!

I've made use of "Roscoe"(My resident trash diver.) anything the cats snub is his.

Like the idea of the peanut butter or honey. Should keep the kitties out of the traps also. I've been avoiding traps because I don't want to trap my cats. Gonna try that.

 

[Magus]

Ha! I stabbed one with a BBQ fork once, LOL. I have a grabber now.

We used to hunt snakes when I was a kid, I had a broom handle with a hole bored in it for a paracord noose. jerk it tight, lop the head off. $5 snake hide +dinner!

 

[Tim Horton]

I caught a chicken snake actually trying to swallow and egg in a nest. Must have given him a bad case of indigestion.... he passed away.
---
I'm told, if you have snakes eating eggs, put golf balls in your hens nests... Snake swallows hen smelling golf ball, can't crush it and gets caught in chicken wire.. The messy part seems retrieving your golf balls..

Up here, the only thing we had eating eggs was a couple of our own hens... I scrambled a raw egg with lots of cyanine pepper and made soup out of the hens in the shade with there feathers all fluffed out trying to cool off... Pre seasoned .....

 

[Biggkidd]

I had to take out three more this year. Once they start eating eggs or chicks they gotta go. Two were clean head shots. The other one is a whole other story. I never did get a shot at his head he was wrapped up in around down in out upside down, you get the idea .. He was super QUICK too. After trying to get him out a half dozen different ways I emptied 8 rounds in him along his length. Once I finally got him all untangled and out of the coop I counted holes. That sucker had 18 holes in him from eight shots. Didn't look to be a traditional black snake and sure as heck didn't move like one. I never ever saw a snake that moved that fast!

 

[Bluetick21]

This guy had killed 5-6 of our chickens before Ifound him in my grow out pen. He had killed 3 out of 4 kits I had.
He passed away due to lead poisoning.