So we think snakes are killing our chickens?

[RedfogsFlock]

We've been losing chickens at the rate of one here and there, to be expected since we have nearly 40 chickens, 12 ducks, 2 turkeys, and 2 roosters. Anyways, here's what were finding.

1. They are usually found dead in their coop, if found at all.
2. The ones that we have found still alive behave like their having a seizure. They never come out of it, and eventually die anyways.
3. The ones we don't find, we usually do find later in the bushes nearby.
4. They are always intact, and look as if they just lie down, have a seizure, and die!

So we thought it was a snake, and my husband shot this one that measured 4 foot without it's head. Diamond back rattler. After he killed it we didn't have anymore losses for awhile, now we've lost two in two days!!!

And another thing we have a lot of quail, and doves around. The last few days we will be walking and just see a pile of feathers in our yard. Sometimes they will be bloody too, but no sign of the bird itself! Oh and all the deaths happen during the day while we are at work, and while our birds are in their coop! Our coops are completely covered with a high gage chain link, and a 4 inch thick plywood roof! At first it was just our 2 and 3 months chicks, but today it got one of my full grown girls! One of our original 5.

ANY IDEAS???

 

[paddock36]

be careful.

 

[Chickiemama1010]

I vote snake too. I have never lost a bird to a snake (knock on wood) but we dont have very big or poisonous snakes here. I did however have a Burmese python nearly 10' long and as thick as my calf as a teen & young adult. I fed it chickens & rabbits once in a while. Usually I just fed it 4 or 5 rats though. Snakes swallow their food whole. They squeeze the heck outta their prey to get it down their throat. Sometimes blood comes out whatever is being swallowed, generally thru the nose or mouth. Now, pyhtons are constrictors and squeeze their prey to death, and the strike and squeeze maneuver is bloody and feathery and poopy mess. Rattlers are poisonous, and I imagine that if a chicken snuck up on it, or pecked at it, or whatever, it could defensively strike. Rattlers have a venom that acts on the blood which eventually puts stress and damage on the organs and causes paralasis, seisures, and death so theres your explanation for that. No way a 4' rattler could swallow a standard chicken, but I bet it could swallow a small quail and definitely a dove. The chickesn you found dead in the bushes prob got struck by the snake and wandered around until the poisn hit them & they died...

As long as your coop is secure, I cant see something very big getting in...but a snake is sneaky enough to fit in cracks and hide under stuff and in corners, etc. And snakes like to lie in the sun, so daytime isnt an issue for them like it may be for, say...a raccoon or opossum. Look in your coop/run and see if you find a snake! Next time you find a dead one in the bushes, look for a snake bite on it... that would be proof.

 

[WriterofWords]

There is a great thread on here somewhere about making snake trap from rolled up netting.

 

[TennesseeTruly]

Quote:
Bird netting is an excellent snake trap. We get them all the time. They're always harmless rat snakes so we cut them out of the netting and let them go.

Laurie

 

[Sunny Side Up]

I wonder if a snake would waste its venom on an animal too big for it to swallow. And I wonder if the chickens would just keep their distance from such a large & noisy snake. They can & do go after smaller snakes to kill & eat them, but I think that like the snake, they'd avoid an animal too large for them to swallow. Perhaps you could call your county extension office to learn the signs of venomous snake bite in poultry. I don't know if it would cause them to have those seizures you describe.

I have lost chicks to snakes, I can tell the snake victims because the snake tries to swallow the chick, gets the head & neck down its throat, then regurgitates it out when it reaches the shoulders. I'll find a dead chick in the morning with its head & neck slimed and the rest of its body fluffy & intact.

 

[RedfogsFlock]

Quote:
That was very enlightening! We have found smaller rattlesnakes that our chickens have pecked to pieces, but only a few so far. They're usually about 6 to 8 inches in length. BUT from now on I will be poking the hay in the hen house before going in there! Tonight our chickens wouldn't kennel up either! We had to chase em down, and even then we almost didn't get em all in! Then again we were chasing 32 birds, lol.

I did pull out all the hay out of the coop tonight, and went through it all before putting it back in for them.

I will check the dead chicken tomorrow. We put her in our mulch bin so I will definitely look. I wasn't sure what it was, maybe scorpion? Well whatever it is we decided it will come back most likely. My DH is off for 2 days, then me for 3, we'll be waiting for it!

Oh and thank you, I'm going to be looking at that thread about the snake trap!

 

[gckiddhouse]

Hey there. Are you in Wittman, AZ? Such an interesting situation. There is an Arizona Chickens thread where one of the BYCers was wondering about snakes getting their chickens. Gonna post a link to this thread there.
I don't think a scorpion would stand a chance against a chicken, and certainly there wouldn't be so many lost. We had a rattler behind the coop just the other day. We have about 2 to 3 in the yard each year. Haven't lost a chicken like that, though.

As far as the feather piles. We do get those. I think they are bobcat kills. We have a family of bobcats that frequent our yard and they are skilled at skinning or de-feathering their prey. And just as many of our bobcat attacks have been in the middle of the day as have been at night. Same with coyotes.

I will be interested to hear what you find out on your days off. Hope you find the culprit!!

If you are in AZ, c'mon over to our thread! https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?pid=4088034

 

[CheerfulHeart2]

RedfogsFlock - Assuming you are here in Arizona, I saw a trailer for the news tonight with a picture of a mess of rattle snakes on it. The trailer was calling it the picture that was stressing out hikers. I am new to Arizona, but I am sure we have had unusual rains and cool weather this year. I am wondering if we have more snakes than usual. Please be very, very careful.

Do come visit us on the AZ thread. We have a great group of folks.

 

[WoodlandWoman]

I'm sorry you are having so much trouble. It does sound like your chickens may be getting bitten, doesn't it? Chain link has really big holes. Can you layer a wire with smaller holes over it, at least on the bottom edge? I think that would probably help a lot.