# keeping snakes out of setting hens nest



## treeclimber233 (Jun 21, 2013)

I had a hen that was setting on about a dozen eggs.  When her time was almost up I checked her nest and she only had 5 eggs.  I didn't think anything about it. just figured she broke some.  All 5 eggs hatched.  Then I noticed I was not getting any eggs from my other hens but I just thought they stopped laying because I put the turkeys in their pen.  Now I have another hen setting and her eggs are disappearing a few at a time.  Now I am thinking -- snake.  Any ideas how to stop the snake from eating my eggs.  I have read about putting a dummy egg in the nest but I don't want the snake to starve to death after he eats it.  Mothballs? or snake-a-way stuff?  maybe sprinkle it around the nest.   I don't want to kill the snake because he keeps my mice under control.  I just want him to stop eating my eggs.


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## Fluffygal (Jun 21, 2013)

Realize you don't want to hurt the snake ; however, the best method is the dummy eggs which will kill the snake. 
For mice n rat control you should get a couple of barn cats.

The snake has found a hole somewhere in your setup to get in through. You need to inspect the coop and fix the spot he is coming through at. If your coop has a dirt floor it may be difficult to keep the snake out as they can make their own holes. If your coop has a built in wood or wire floor it will be easier to fix the hole to keep him out. 

Also, if you let the chickens out for yard time during the day the snake could be entering in through the pop door. This snake has found an easy source of food and will continue to raid the nests. 

Instead of sacrificing eggs for mice control you may want to consider getting a couple of barn cats and plop the dummy eggs in the nests. 
Squirrels also will pilfer the nests if given the opportunity. Cats will help deter snakes, mice, and other small pests.
Chickens will eat baby mice and small mice.


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## Southern by choice (Jun 21, 2013)

I'll take the snakes anyday. Hardware cloth is good... we have many open building for nests and eggs. Catch the snake and relocate it. Snakes(except our copperheads) do a far better job around here. 3 cats and 1 bit by copperheads 3 x, now dead from probably a coon. Higher risk of rabies with cats too. Cats often like to chase chicks.  Then you have to "fix" them, vaccinations, flea/tick treatments,wounds from other wildlife, and rabies... even if vac if it tangles with something that possibly has rabies you must by law ( at least here) get revac. within so many hours I believe 48. Cats also kill the song birds and other wildlife you don't want killed.

We take the snakes and put them under the crawl space... never have mice in the house. 

We are down to one cat... kills squirrels. 

Usually snakes will come around more at breeding season.

Seriously if cats work for ya great... not worth it IMO


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## AshleyFishy (Jun 21, 2013)

I used the dummy eggs to get rid of any sneaky snakes that might happen to make it into the coop. I do have cats but mine are mostly useless against snakes, however mice are a goners. What worked best for me was putting my pot belly in the coop with the chickens. Snakes seem to not like pigs or pig poo. I haven't had a single egg disappear since moving the pot belly out there. The pot belly doesn't eat the eggs or the chickens. I let it out in the day with the girls to free range then it puts itself back up at night.

Side note... I also have not had any other predators bother the chickens at night since introducing the potbelly. The pot belly is a "mini" pot belly at about 35#. The chickens will roost on his back in the winter for warmth also.


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## treeclimber233 (Jun 24, 2013)

Well.  No more snake.  I found a 5 1/2 foot black snake sleeping about 2 feet from the nest.  My hen must have finally figured out what was going on because the nest was a wreck and her eggs were scattered all over but still warm so I put them back under her.  After thinking about it I realized when he did not have any more eggs  to eat he would probably end up eating my baby chicks.  So off  with his head.  And as for barn cats -- I don't think Drift would like cats at the barn.  And I have had 4 cats that never went to the barn.  Didn't mind killing birds but a mouse-- forget it.


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## danielburns271 (Jun 24, 2013)

I suggest you use hardware cloth. There is no way a snake big enough to do any damage could get through that.


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## goatcrazy421 (Jul 3, 2013)

Do you know how hes getting in? If you know that you could probably block it off so he cant come in. 


HOPE THAT CULPRIT LEARNS HIS LESSON!


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## eweinHiscare (Jul 3, 2013)

There is something else you can try to control snakes.
It is the plastic "bird netting" or sometimes called "deer netting" that is used over fruit trees and gardens.

When it is applied to the ground level around your fences and coop the snakes will try to simply push their way through
it rather than find a way around.  Then they become entangled and die.

I have actually rescued a few by using nail clippers to take the netting off and relocated them.
Other times they were already dead.

A large 5 foot snake would probably need a larger size netting, the bird netting will only catch snakes less than about 30 inches long.

A story;  it was still cool March weather and my hen was sitting on eggs.

 She also was missing one every other day..then I looked under
the eggs into the hay. 

 There was a black snake curled up directly under the eggs!

Apparently the snake was being kept rather cozy by the setting hen, and when hungry didn't even have to get out of bed for a meal.


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## treeclimber233 (Jul 6, 2013)

Well I had a second hen hatch out some babies and I put them in a cage hanging off the floor at least 4 ft high.  A second snake got in and ate 3 babies and then just killed the rest.  I guess he did not realize he was already full and tried to eat them and just spit them out on the floor of the cage.  So second snake dead.  Then I had a hen hatch out 1 baby.  I just let her run loose with her baby.  I guess I have another snake because her baby is gone now.   Still have one more hen setting.  What did people do in the old days?


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## AshleyFishy (Jul 6, 2013)

My greatgrandfather who was still alive when I was young still kept chickens at 102. He would put lye, I want to say it was, in a wide band around the chicken coop. The chickens stayed in their coop they were not free rangers. Fake eggs were used a lot also I think.

 I don't really remember if it helped or not. I just know he did everything kind of old timey.

Mini pot belly pig works great for me  

Maybe you could get some cat/pig poo and put it out there?


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## eweinHiscare (Jul 7, 2013)

treeclimber233 said:
			
		

> Well I had a second hen hatch out some babies and I put them in a cage hanging off the floor at least 4 ft high.  A second snake got in and ate 3 babies and then just killed the rest.  I guess he did not realize he was already full and tried to eat them and just spit them out on the floor of the cage.  So second snake dead.  Then I had a hen hatch out 1 baby.  I just let her run loose with her baby.  I guess I have another snake because her baby is gone now.   Still have one more hen setting.  What did people do in the old days?


So you did catch that perpetrator when it could not go back out the cage because of it being large in the belly with swallowed chick.

That brought back memory of childhood when out pet mouse was eaten by a snake that got into the cage through the wire mesh.

In the morning we found a fat snake in the cage....and no mousie.  !!!

  Horrors for us, and the snake too since Dad killed it for us.  

The  baby chick you lost running loose with mother may have been taken by a crow or hawk.

I have had too many losses at a time for it to be just snakes.  Once I covered the pen with more of that deer netting a lot more baby

ducks (in my case)  stopped disappearing.   The crows were coming in the daytime of course, and they are smart enough to know to check

poultry pens in the Spring.


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## treeclimber233 (Jul 9, 2013)

Well the hen that was setting on 8 eggs now has no eggs.  She is also in a pen suspended from the ceiling about 4 feet off the ground.  Guess I will give up on chicks this year.  I guess I will have to resort to a fake egg in a nest.  Maybe this explains why my rabbits stopped breeding.  With snakes crawling thru the pens at night I would not be in the mood either.


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