Black Snake

[Dannysgirl]

So I have a black snake stealing my eggs. He’s a big guy, too. Probably 5.5-6 feet in length. I’ve removed and relocated him once already. I guess I didn’t take him far enough when I released him. I don’t want to kill him. I live on a farm and I know how beneficial non poisonous can be. My question is, can his bite make my adult chickens sick? I recently lost a hen, for no apparent reason. Now, I’ve got another hen acting sickly. I can’t figure out what else it could be. They have a healthy diet of layer feed, scratch grains and plenty of cuttings from the kitchen. When I’m lucky enough to beat the snake to the eggs, they have nice hard shells.

 

[Brooks_]

So I have a black snake stealing my eggs. He’s a big guy, too. Probably 5.5-6 feet in length. I’ve removed and relocated him once already. I guess I didn’t take him far enough when I released him. I don’t want to kill him. I live on a farm and I know how beneficial non poisonous can be. My question is, can his bite make my adult chickens sick? I recently lost a hen, for no apparent reason. Now, I’ve got another hen acting sickly. I can’t figure out what else it could be. They have a healthy diet of layer feed, scratch grains and plenty of cuttings from the kitchen. When I’m lucky enough to beat the snake to the eggs, they have nice hard shells.

A non-venomous snake bite could lead to infection. But the bite would not cause any direct illness.

 

[SilverBirds]

Have you figured out how he's getting in? Closing every gap, no matter how small, is a good start. How far away did you relocate him the first time?

A non-venomous bite itself is not lethal, but a deep untreated puncture wound but can lead to bacterial infection. What are your sick hens symptoms?

How often and how much scratch and table scraps are they getting? Treats should be fed sparingly and should only make up 10% of their diet.

 

[Dannysgirl]

They get small amounts of veggie clippings almost every day. We eat quite a bit of vegetables here. So I mean things like cucumber/carrot skins, lettuce scraps, etc. maybe a handful a day, sometimes more.

They probably get a cup of scratch grains each day. This is for 9 chickens. It’s not a huge amount.

I’d say the majority of their diet is layer feed. 16%

I took him about 100 feet away from the coop, out in the thick of my horse pastures. He wasn’t exactly cooperating with me and was getting agitated.

She is just standing still, sometimes letting her head “droop” some. She looks at me when I go out there and does move around then. But if I look out my window, she is just standing still and not moving. She didn’t seem interested in any clippings this evening, which is odd for her. I can’t tell if she’s even eating layer feed. I can tell she doesn’t feel well. She doesn’t appear to have any wounds. The behavior started yesterday. I believe she is only around two years old.

 

[SilverBirds]

I'd start to minimize the scratch and scrapes to only a few times a week. Do they have access to grit? How does your girls crop feel. Empty? Hard? Squishy? Full of liquid? Does her breath smell bad? Any discoloration of the comb/wattles? Does she look/feel eggbound?

Rat snakes normally have a "territory" that they stay in for most of their lives, which means they can easily navigate if they are only moved a short distance. You may need to locate him even further away.

 

[McChooky]

Any snake bite can be painful and lead to an infection.If a snake enters a nest to steal eggs while a hens sitting in it the chance being bitten increases.

 

[Vadard]

So I have a black snake stealing my eggs. He’s a big guy, too. Probably 5.5-6 feet in length. I’ve removed and relocated him once already. I guess I didn’t take him far enough when I released him. I don’t want to kill him. I live on a farm and I know how beneficial non poisonous can be. My question is, can his bite make my adult chickens sick? I recently lost a hen, for no apparent reason. Now, I’ve got another hen acting sickly. I can’t figure out what else it could be. They have a healthy diet of layer feed, scratch grains and plenty of cuttings from the kitchen. When I’m lucky enough to beat the snake to the eggs, they have nice hard shells.

I can understand and respect not wanting to kill a nonven snake, but you’re fighting a losing battle if you don’t kill it or at least relocate it miles away. It will keep giving you trouble and will make babies that will do the same. You’re gonna have to choose between the viability of your egg-producing enterprise and the other critters that want some protein, too.

I’ve killed every predator that’s ever gotten into my coop, though there haven’t been too many.

 

[neo71665]

100 feet isn't even close to being far enough to be considered relocation. I wouldn't even call 100 yards relocated. You just slightly inconvenienced the snake.

Snakes are good to have around but I have a zero tolerance when they get in my coop. The only ones I might relocate are king snakes and those would be moved to the back side of my 90 acres. The rest are shot on site inside my coop.