cross-posted from: https://hexbear.net/post/431481
I recently inherited a chicken coop & small flock from a friend that had to give them up. They’ve got a big-ass yard to forage in with lots of grass, tree cover, and all the pumpkin plants they can destroy because i wasnt planning on having chickens when i planted them. Still learning birdcare, but half of them have learned to love headpets and are as fat & happy as I can keep them.
However they’ve also attracted rat snakes & racer snakes to the coop. None of the snakes in my area are big enough to eat a full grown chicken, but it’s stressing the chickens out and they keep trying to eat the eggs.
I dont wanna hurt any of the snakes, they’re adorable and dopey, but im grabbing a 4 foot frightened snake out of the coop everynight. I keep sealing up new gaps and they keep showing me new ones. Its getting kinda old & I’m starting to wonder if its a different snake every night or just a few really persistent lil guys.
Is there a way to get them to fuck off? And how do biologists tag snakes? Is there like, a little thing i can clip into a scale or is it safe to hit them with a dab of paint or something? Cause if its just the same 2 dumbasses i keep greeting everynight i can just drive them to a nearby lake what i imagine snake heaven would be.
I think snake heaven is probably a coop full of eggs and warmer lights. But a lake is probably a decent purgatory.
Fingernail polish can be used to mark the snakes. It’s non toxic and won’t rub off. You can get it in bright colors and it’s cheap.
I had a lot of snakes in my back yard, but didn’t mind having them elsewhere on my property. So I used a product called Liquid Fence, which is available at Lowes. It’s just cornmint oil pellets and it’s safe around kids and pets. Putting this around the outer perimeter of the coop once per week might resolve the issue.
Maybe you could spray them with a little silver or gold cake paint? It’s made specifically for spraying on food and gives it a metallic color. Probably would wear off in a day or two, but won’t hurt the snakes.
Spray chalk might also be a non permanent option.
I don’t know either answer but I’ll attempt some guessing.
For the gaps, just redouble on it. I’ve sealed gaps in wooden houses to prevent cockroaches from crawling in. Snakes are larger, so I’m sure it’s possible.
Tagging: considering how cryptic snake behaviour is, I’d think herpetologists today would microchip them, then get their data from fixed or remote chip readers or catch and release surveys. Paint might work temporarily in captivity but I don’t think that’s going to last otherwise.
I’ve heard of people bagging and relocating them several miles away. Makes sense to me if you’re careful about where you put them. Not sure how kosher that is though…
Depends on the location. Vermont, US doesn’t have snakes like that, but it’s illegal to relocate animals from the property on which it was caught.
“Officer, I found this snake at a nearby lake. Just wanted to show it my coop and feed it an egg and now after this exciting afternoon adventure, I’m returning it when I found it.”
Hahahah
Hmm interesting problem. A tiny dot of colourful non-toxic paint is what I would try. I did a quick net search and the results I found all mentioned an electronic tag with invasive insertion procedure. If only a tiny belt would stay on…
Maybe a banana sticker would stay on long enough to identify a repeat offender, and would be shed with the skin if it didn’t fall off or wear/scrape off. Meanwhile keep plugging those gaps.
Spraypain?
I thought about spraypaint, but i don’t know if that’ll hurt the snake. Would definitely piss it off. I figured a bit of nail polish would do the trick, but i dont know if thats bad for snakes either. And then at least i’d have a firm grasp on a pissed off snake.Was informed this was a terrible idea. DO NOT paint snakes.I’ve got a lot of rats & fieldmice around the house, so i dont mind the snakes. I just want to stop them from trying to raid my coop.
For any pest animals (coon, opossum, snakes) I just put some spray paint and then drive 30 miles or so and let them go. If they come back second time that’s when I kill them.