svh
Crowing
I have 8 layers, and usually get 5 to 7 eggs a day, everyday. Well about 2 weeks ago, I started getting fewer, and fewer eggs per day, and thought the sneaky girls were laying while ranging free, as they do everyday. A thorough search revealed no nesting sites outside of their nest boxes, so I started watching a bit closer, and found the culprit ….. A HUGE black snake !!!
My coop, and run, is ground level, and I leave the door open when they are out and about, so they still have access to their food, and water. 4 days ago, I just happened to look out the window, and saw over 6 feet of black snake, as big as my forearm, coming out of the open run door. In the 20 seconds it took me to grab the shotgun, and race out to do battle, the serpent was gone ! Vanished !!! Mo%4@%&)%@#& !!!
Now I know that the black snake is a beneficial snake, and dispatching it is frowned upon, but this particular specimen is EASILY large enough to do major damage to a chicken, and I couldn't take the chance of it getting locked in the coop/run overnight, so I planned to relocate it to my freezer. IF I could catch it out in the open.
Well, when I went into the coop to collect eggs, they were ALL gone ! Including a ceramic egg, and a golf ball !!!
Now, I don't think a snake could digest a ceramic egg, or a golf ball, so I put out a camera to see what happened ….. That was 4 days ago, and I have seen NO sign of the egg eater !!! Egg collection has returned to normal, so I think that this particular snake got a really good start, to a really bad day !!!
Anyone had a snake come back after ingesting a fake egg, or golf ball ?
My coop, and run, is ground level, and I leave the door open when they are out and about, so they still have access to their food, and water. 4 days ago, I just happened to look out the window, and saw over 6 feet of black snake, as big as my forearm, coming out of the open run door. In the 20 seconds it took me to grab the shotgun, and race out to do battle, the serpent was gone ! Vanished !!! Mo%4@%&)%@#& !!!
Now I know that the black snake is a beneficial snake, and dispatching it is frowned upon, but this particular specimen is EASILY large enough to do major damage to a chicken, and I couldn't take the chance of it getting locked in the coop/run overnight, so I planned to relocate it to my freezer. IF I could catch it out in the open.
Well, when I went into the coop to collect eggs, they were ALL gone ! Including a ceramic egg, and a golf ball !!!
Now, I don't think a snake could digest a ceramic egg, or a golf ball, so I put out a camera to see what happened ….. That was 4 days ago, and I have seen NO sign of the egg eater !!! Egg collection has returned to normal, so I think that this particular snake got a really good start, to a really bad day !!!
Anyone had a snake come back after ingesting a fake egg, or golf ball ?
