Taking care of rats ... with a blacksnake?

[Rosefiend]

Good morning, I'm a newbie but I've searched this forum before for chicken-related questions.

I've had rats living under the chicken coop since last year. My executive function is terrible so I haven't stayed on top of the problem. The little basters like getting into the coop and eating eggs. It's currently 0 degrees F outside, but this morning I blocked up the holes where the rats can get into the coop with aluminum foil and left a few "presents" for the rats under the coop. But I fear that my follow-up with the rats will be less than effective, even though I know I need to stay on top of the problem and hit them with several control methods at once.

I've worked as a volunteer naturalist with the Missouri Department of Conservation for many years. I have been seriously thinking about getting a young blacksnake/rat snake (not sure where) and putting her under the coop once the weather warms up. I won't have baby chicks, only eggs.

But I feel like the blacksnake would be the best solution for me because she would stay on top of the rat problem -- she can get into the burrows where the rats live -- and she'd definitely discourage other rats from moving in. And I wouldn't have to use poison, which I'm not crazy about.

Once the rats are gone, I expect the snake would start hanging out in the chicken coop and looking for eggs. At that point I could pick her up and take her out to the wild area caddy-corner to my house and turn her loose there.

What are your thoughts? Have any of you taken this course of action?

Attaching a pic of some of my girls. I have seven hens in a fairly solid coop with good fencing around it (also netting over the top to discourage the red-shouldered and Cooper's hawks that like to come over looking for lunch).

 

[Logar]

you would need a very large male to even have a chance of that working. most adult rat snakes, especially females, are not big enough for anything bigger than a weaned rat max. my rat snake is around 4.5 feet and 2.5 years old and there is absolutely no way he would be able to eat an adult or even sub adult rat. and that's if it even ends up staying or not being killed by the chickens.

 

[Rosefiend]

you would need a very large male to even have a chance of that working. most adult rat snakes, especially females, are not big enough for anything bigger than a weaned rat max. my rat snake is around 4.5 feet and 2.5 years old and there is absolutely no way he would be able to eat an adult or even sub adult rat. and that's if it even ends up staying or not being killed by the chickens.

I've always understood that our local blacksnakes/rat snakes will eat rats. These guys can get pretty big. I remember when I was a kid, we had this clubhouse up in this big old silver maple, but that came to an abrupt end when I climbed up one day and found a three-foot long ratsnake happily curled in a tree hollow. https://mdc.mo.gov/discover-nature/field-guide/western-ratsnake

 

[Logar]

you would need a very large male to even have a chance of that working. most adult rat snakes, especially females, are not big enough for anything bigger than a weaned rat max. my rat snake is around 4.5 feet and 2.5 years old and there is absolutely no way he would be able to eat an adult or even sub adult rat. and that's if it even ends up staying or not being killed by the chickens.

Spoiler: DEAD RATS AND SNAKES EATING

These are all about 50 grams and considered small rats. Rats can get well over three times the size of these.

And this is Elmo at about 4ish feet. He is a western (black) rat snake. Yes he is a scaleless but the same exact thing as a wild one minus that.

And this is him eating a mouse about 25 grams. Imagine him trying to eat something 2 times that size let alone 5-6-7+ times. While they do absolutely get a decent bit thicker with more length/age, you are going to have a hard time finding a rat snake large enough to eat a 100 gram rat.

 

[Logar]

I've always understood that our local blacksnakes/rat snakes will eat rats. These guys can get pretty big. I remember when I was a kid, we had this clubhouse up in this big old silver maple, but that came to an abrupt end when I climbed up one day and found a three-foot long ratsnake happily curled in a tree hollow. https://mdc.mo.gov/discover-nature/field-guide/western-ratsnake

Yes, every once in a while there will be a 7 foot male found that would be capable of eating an adult rat but the vast majority are not and never will be able to.

 

[Al Gerhart]

All that and how often does an adult rat snake need to eat? Every week to ten days probably. A rat colony can out breed a couple of snakes with no problem. The issue of size is important, the snakes will seek out the baby rats, chicks, bird eggs, before they take on an adult rat.

Stopping rodents is so simple. You simply stop feeding them and in nearly every case the rats have to leave or starve to death. There are three methods to controlling rats.

Sanitation, bulk feed in metal barrels, clean up the pathways between the food source and their dens so natural predators can help thin the ranks, and you get a good treadle feeder. Check the reviews very carefully with more weight on the negative reviews as the majority of flock owners will not be dealing with rats, they just need a feeder. Inward swinging doors are best, a narrow and distant treadle is best, and you have to have heavy springs pre loading the door to prevent the rodents from just pushing the door open. You will spend at the cheapest $100 for the feeder and shipping and no, Amazon will NOT have a rat proof feeder for sale. They will have some very poorly made in China treadle feeders like the Grandpa or one of its many clones.

Then exclusion, building a fort knox coop. Far more expensive but it can be done. BTW, you are using chicken wire on your coop. Dogs and predators like coons will rip it like a paper bag as it is just twisted together. Back that up with some 2 x 4 welded wire please.

Then the elimination method, poisons and traps. Rarely effective after the rats figure out what is killing them. Constant expense. You cannot poison or trap out a rat colony unless you first remove the food source.

Now if you could find ten rat snakes.... but come cold weather your workers are gone and rats would move into the open territory.

 

[fowltemptress]

Rats are massive. I would think this would be a better plan for a mouse problem.

Back before I tore the floor out of my coop, I found a copperhead snake living under the flooring of the coop. I weighed the risks vs advantages and decided to leave the snake be. I didn't have any signs of mice in my coop that year. But unlike rat snakes, a copperhead won't eat eggs. If it had been a rat snake, I probably would have removed it and released it elsewhere on the property.

 

[Logar]

All that and how often does an adult rat snake need to eat? Every week to ten days probably.

I know this probably wasn’t meant as a serious question but it varies a lot more than that. There is no set schedule with nature obviously but every 7-21+ days is a good average. And only for around 6-8 months of the year. As snakes get older and bigger they start eating less frequently so a snake big enough to eat an adult rat might only be eating 8 times a year.

 

[fowltemptress]

Mice avoid areas where a snake is active. Are rats different?

 

[Logar]

Mice avoid areas where a snake is active. Are rats different?

rats are very smart so I doubt thst would deter them.