Snakes

Like rodents and skunks, snakes are rarely a danger to adult chickens. If they are allowed access to a chicken coop, snakes will happily dine on young birds and eggs, but they pose little threat to grown birds. While it’s possible for some large, exotic snakes to kill and consume whole adult chickens, it would be rather rare. In fact, it’s more likely that an adult hen will make a meal out of a snake than the other way around.

CALLING CARD

Unless you’re able to actually catch a glimpse of a snake entering the coop, there will be only a few mysterious signs of his presence:

Missing chicks; no other clues. Whole, missing eggs; no other clues. Dead, adult chickens with a wet head (where the snake attempted to swallow it).

YOUR FLOCK’S DEFENSES

Snakes prefer to feast on rodents, such as mice and rats, and will take up residence where and when there are ample food sources. That means if you have a resident snake, you likely have a rodent problem as well. Follow the same precautions for securing the coop, too. Like rodents, snakes are able to fit through very small openings in the coop. Eliminate the food source, and the snake will move on.

Some snakes, like this black rat snake, will enter your coop to eat eggs and small chicks.