I found out where my eggs have been going. I went out to check my chickens for eggs, and when I looked into their nest box, and there was a 'nice' big black king snake. Since they kill copperheads and rattlers and their ilk, I took the box and hauled him as far from the henhouse as I could get and turned him loose. I hope he will go after RODENTS and poisonous snakes instead of my eggs! Here is a picture of his Daddy: bigger king snake in my yard ( photo / image / picture from AAnightowl's Garden ) He is not quite this big, but it wont take him long to grow so much.
new chicken pen ( photo / image / picture from AAnightowl's Garden ) This is the new chicken pen my son is building. It is farther along now, and over where those two boards are crosswise, he has built a new cage for them. It is not totally finished but the hens love it. I have cardboard boxes in there for them to hide/nest in, and they love it. The snake was in one of their boxes. We have it totally closed in on top with chicken wire too.
Wow, I never thought of worrying about snakes being in my chickens . I don't think my electric fence would help in that case. I know it helped in the case pf the bear and probably the coyote. We are building a new chicken house and it will be 2 feet in the air and all wood. That will probably keep snakes out. Glad you solved your snake problem.
Thank you for not killing the snake! They can get through the smallest spaces and are very determined. I hope yours develops a taste for vermin. We have had two snakes in our chicken coop in six years. The first was in the nest box, and I tossed him into the field. The second was climbing the ladder to the nest box and wrapped his tail around one of the rungs when I grabbed him. Somehow the snake, the ladder, and I all got out of the coop. Those snake tails are strong!!
Just thinking, I never look in the next boxes. I just reach in and take....wow. wouldn't want to grab one with an egg. Do the hens go into the box to lay even with a shake in the box?
Barb, I'm not sure, but I think that the snake gets into the nest box to rob an egg after the hen has left the box and is most likely elsewhere. Both times the snakes were in the coop, the ladies didn't seem to notice or mind, but there wasn't a hen in any of the boxes when the snake was present.
If it had been a poisonous snake, he would have been DEAD. I do NOT do poisonous snakes. I barely tolerate harmless ones at a nice respectable distance. The farther away the better. Black king snakes kill copperheads and other poisonous vermin. I expect him to be on the job killing them for me--away from my chickens!
