Bullsnakes

[birdfreak1831]

We have quite a few of them around, some 6 foot long or longer.
Even the big mothers have not threatened my bantam chickens.
They will "climb" up trees to access nests and enter nesting boxes to eat the young, I have observed both. While I don`t want anyone to die, the carnivores do have to eat someone to stay alive.
I like snakes [can hear the boos], am not afraid of them, know how to act around them and we live peacefully together. I behave according to a non-interference principle.
BUT...I would prevent snakes or any predator from eating my chickens or act in either self-defense or chicken-defense. Yes, I did allow Bullsnakes to eat other birds without liking it [necessary non-interference].

It doesn`t concern me or my chickens when small Bullsnakes enter the run - have never had one inside the coops or enclosed front room. Or eat eggs either, most of which are deposited in a tree nest.

I did get a 6-footer inside the run who got caught trying to pass through an internal mesh divider. Her head could not be retracted to free her, so I cut her out and released her.

My question to you all is :
Does a Bullsnake or any snake that big ever go after an adult bantam chicken?
Swallow it whole?
How can you prevent that in a non-lethal way?

 

[Al Capon]

A friend of mine lost three 6-8 week old standard pullets. They found the first couple without any marks, dead in a coup, couldn't figure out why they died. Thought maybe they ate a piece of garbage that's found lying around farms.

The last one they found shortly after the snake had tried to swallow it and couldn't, coughing it back up. The head and neck feathers were still schmutz'y from the snakes attempt.

A mad snake hunting expedition was launched and the culprit was found and retired. Never thought a snake would take chicks that big, but this was a Big Bullsnake. He was squeezing the life out of them and then couldn't eat them.

I wouldn't put it past a large colubrid to go after bantams, probably wouldn't be able to eat them though.

 

[birdfreak1831]

This is not good news!
But I do appreciate your input, it made me go hunting for more Bullsnake information.
There are other snakes around, even an occasional rattler, but the Bullsnakes are the biggest by far.

What I did NOT know is that they are constrictors. Egads!
You describe their attacks accurately, they kill a chicken first [acting like a boa], then swallow it whole.
If they cannot throat it down they will puke it back up.

My big Bulls hibernate in my dirt basement or an outbuilding where they primarily eat rodents. This may be why I rarely see mice around my coops and runs and none inside.
The snakes and I get along peacefully, but as other predators they can get quite opportunistic. Going after whoever looks easy to catch.

Looks like I`d better watch out for the big Bulls, although the one I caught and released was the only one inside a run section.
And two summers ago.

 

[ColtHandorf]

I had rat snakes killing and being unable to eat Large Fowl English Orpingtons last year. After the fourth or fifth was found dead and wet from the head down to the breast bone and I lost an entire clutch of fertile goose eggs I waged war.

 

[BigBlueHen53]

Death is a fact of life in this realm. Big snakes eat little snakes and little snakes eat mice. When big snakes get caught eating my eggs, I become the bigger snake.