HUGE Black snake in chicken coop. Can’t Get him out

[TOMTE]

Other people have said it, but rat snakes are not venomous, and they are safe to handle. even if they bite, just keep it clean to prevent infection, thats all. It might hurt, but it wont kill you. Snakes are like ALL muscle and can be hard to pull out of a hiding place once they get themselves in. And you're a giant scary creature that, for all it knows, might be trying to kill and eat it, so of course it's going to make a show of trying to make itself seem dangerous. But it isnt, not to you at least. Best thing to do if you want it gone is get it over with and pull it out and release or cull it, but it will hunt and eat any rodents that make their way into the area which imo can do a lot more damage to eggs/very young chicks than a rat snake will do to grown chickens. HOWEVER, there is a chance that the snake might have a taste for chicken eggs, depending on species

 

[Nanook33]

OK, I went to close my chickens coop up and I found a black snake. That’s gotta be a good 7 foot long in the rafters. I need to close them up and I cannot get the snake out and he’s getting a little testy when I try about 8 foot up and I’m 5 foot tall. He’s not real happy with me wanting to mess with him. Will he hurt my chickens? They’re all full grown. I want to think he wouldn’t but dang this thing big
I’m scared to close them up alone in the night with him

Snakes WILL kill & eat chickens & their eggs. If all else fails, use a pair of tree trimmers to remove it. Nasty I know, but you don't want to lose any chickens. Then maybe some small gauge wire or netting around the run or wherever it is getting in.

 

[TOMTE]

Snakes WILL kill & eat chickens & their eggs. If all else fails, use a pair of tree trimmers to remove it. Nasty I know, but you don't want to lose any chickens. Then maybe some small gauge wire or netting around the run or wherever it is getting in.

depends on the species and size. thats a huge rat snake (if thats what it is) and could MAYBE eat an adult chicken. Maybe. I'd worry more about chicks and eggs. But not all species of snakes eat eggs or birds, and not all rat snakes eat eggs/birds. I really dont think killing it is totally necessary if relocation is an option. Catch it, put it in a pillow case or some kind of container, drive it out a few miles away and release it. I wouldn't kill it unless I absolutely had to and even then, I'd make sure it's quick. A sharp pair of shears might do the trick but unless you can get it right behind the head it's going to cause the snake unnecessary suffering

 

[flickerfarkle]

A good, clean head shot with .22 caliber "bird shot, also known as snake load" should do the trick. ...

If you want it dead and gone, snakeshot would be my first choice.

Snake shot is a shotgun shell in miniature. They're loaded with #12 birdshot. The smallest shot used in sporting shotgun shells is #10s, which is so small it's almost like throwing a handful of sand. #12s are even smaller, which means a larger number of pellets (by weight) than larger birdshot so you're more likely to get a few pellets on the target even if it's as small as a mouse. Plus the pellets that miss are so small they're not likely to penetrate a tin roof, and will be pretty harmless if they ricochet.

If you don't have a .22 handy, they also make snakeshot in other pistol cartridges (.38 Spl, .9mm, .45 acp, etc) but those fire a significantly larger number of pellets so the pellets that miss are likely to cause greater collateral damage.

But snakes are notoriously hard to kill. And #12s are so small, and that's a decent-sized snake, so it probably will take a lot of luck or a lot of shots to put it away.

Snakes are cold-blooded so they get their body heat from their environment. If you get it cold enough it might put it in panic mode. If you just want it gone and don't want to kill it you could shoot it with a CO2 fire extinguisher. Put some icicles on it and it'll know instinctively it has to go find some sunshine or it'll die.

Or you could put ice water in a tobacco sprayer and hit him with cold water. Not as cold as CO2 but still cold enough it'll probably see the wisdom of going somewhere where you ain't.

 

[Stel]

View attachment 3903307View attachment 3903308
The bottom picture is when I found him. The top picture is what he looks like now that I’ve tried to mess with him to get him out. He was trying to strike my garden rake I was trying to use

ok, now I'm invested in this situation. First, are you safe, second.....did you get the black snake down? Third... are you and your chickens ok???? Enquiring minds want to know

 

[DoniJ]

A good, clean head shot with .22 caliber "bird shot, also known as snake load" should do the trick. First, chase your birds out of their pen; then your take your grandfather's old .22 caliber rifle and point it at the snake's head. Be sure you are about ten to fifteen feet away and wearing protective eyewear. Let her rip and jump back in case you don't kill him with the first shot. Use someone with a garden hoe for backup. Be ready for a second or third shot if necessary. Check the snake's tail for rattles and, if not, it could be a large Cotton Mouth. Either way, it could be very dangerous, for chickens AND people! Good Luck. If you are afraid of guns, call your local animal control or county trapper for help.

I am sure you intended to be helpful, but honestly, this is counter-productive. The last line is the only sensible part of what you stated.

 

[DoniJ]

OK, I went to close my chickens coop up and I found a black snake. That’s gotta be a good 7 foot long in the rafters. I need to close them up and I cannot get the snake out and he’s getting a little testy when I try about 8 foot up and I’m 5 foot tall. He’s not real happy with me wanting to mess with him. Will he hurt my chickens? They’re all full grown. I want to think he wouldn’t but dang this thing big
I’m scared to close them up alone in the night with him

Okay, now that I have seen a picture, yes that appears to be a black rat snake. As I said before, not a danger to you, minimum danger to smaller chickens, most likely eating your eggs!
Someone posted about poisonous snakes coming because (?) of it's presence. (That was what they seemed to imply.) That is not the case. Also, Black Rat snakes do not travel with a mate. They will go look for a mate when it is time. If that is a female (which I suspect because of the size) then yes, you could have babies come along later. Your ladies will likely eat the babies. By the way, back to poisonous snakes, Black Rat snakes are known to eat them.
You do not want to kill, only relocate this one. She will keep your area mouse/rat free.

 

[SourRoses]

Snakes definitely do kill chickens they can't swallow. We've seen a lot of pictures in the Predators section where people find dead, intact chickens with their heads coated in the slime... from a snake trying to swallow them and failing.

Last month I lost a big 3-4 week old chick to a pencil thin corn snake. It was so tiny (probably a hatchling?) it managed to squeeze past the hardware cloth protecting our outdoor brooder, and got the chick in a tight constrictor hold. The broody moms were going nuts trying to get it in the dark... I raced out there at whatever-AM because of the noise, and tried to pry the snake off the chick who was still alive and fighting. But the snake was so determined and wrapped around the chick in a tight figure 8. I needed 4 hands to try to undo it (with a broody in my face, in the mostly dark by flashlight). By the time we got the snake loose, the chick had been without air for too long and died. One of my beautiful full Mottleds too.
There was NO WAY that snake would have ever been able to swallow that big chick.
Considering its ability to evade our best efforts at brooder defense, we chopped that snake into 3 pieces with a shovel.
I know the snake fans get upset at that sort of thing, and one yelled at me on FB over the incident, but I have to say an animal isn't automatically innocent just because you love it.
Our first responsibility is to defend our pets & livestock by all practical means. If that's not enough, then relocation or elimination are necessary next steps. After that, we should give respect and consideration to wildlife and the environment. On that note, we gave the body of that corn snake back to the woods, and the next day we saw a black racer take it, so he got a good snack without harming my livestock.

 

[Themellowyellows]

I am sure you intended to be helpful, but honestly, this is counter-productive. The last line is the only sensible part of what you stated.

Killing it would be the only way to truely and safely get rid of it.

 

[TOMTE]

Killing it would be the only way to truely and safely get rid of it.

No, relocation at least a couple miles away would definitely do the trick...

I understand that snakes can do damage to a flock, but considering they only eat once every couple weeks on average (a snake's digestive system is very slow and 100% reliant on heat and UV which they aren't constantly getting unless in captivity with proper husbandry), a rat snake even this size shouldn't be a huge problem.

All the people saying that snakes do attempt to kill and eat prey too big for them, it really just doesnt happen that often. Young, inexperienced snakes might try (and fail) but as they grow older they NORMALLY learn not to waste their limited energy on prey too big for them. Because that's counterproductive to their survival. A starving, desperate snake might try.

Someone mentioned a dead chicken with a slimy head like a too small snake tried to eat it but couldn't. What likely happened is the snake was startled during the eating process and regurgitated the chicken to get away from perceived danger quickly.

These instances are outliers. It doesn't happen all that often. Because, again, snakes are not normally going to waste energy on prey that they physically can't eat, it's just too conterproductive to their survival.

By all means, nobody can stop you from dealing with snakes and other predators the way you personally want/choose to. But please educate yourself and at the very least TRY non-lethal methods. Trap, relocate and release is enough to deal with a single snake.