He ate his last egg

Was changing the straw in the laying boxes and pulling it out by hand into a bucket. Reached into the second box and began pulling out the straw. For some reason straw would not pull out. This bad boy was under the straw. I reached in 3 times before I knew what was going on. YIKES!!!

Fought those thieves for many years

Big ol rat snake....

That's an impressive snake. wonder how long he'd been freeloading

Egg futures are safe now

Probably not the first time that snake had been in a hen house, but it will be the last time.

Good Job!

Just my .02,
LeonCarr

Holy moly, I prolly would've pee'd my britches.

In the spring each year one shows up. Gonna start putting a few golf balls in the boxes and let them eat thoes.

Never seen a rat snake in that color phase.

Dang John I might not have recognized you with that beard. Good job on the egg thief!

Wow.

Yikes!

Bobby,

I was part of a RIF last August, they let 25 of us go and when your 64 no one wants you (For work that is).
So shaving isn't part of my daily routine, first time growing a beard and I like it!

Got a few big ones like that around here. I'd have crapped my pants if I reached in a nesting box in a hen house expecting a fresh egg and grabbed that big boy instead.

I don't raise chickens and having had a couple of high dollar repairs from rats chewing the wiring in vehicles, I leave them alone. Having a few snakes around to deal with the rodents is ok if it saves the time and expense of more high dollar repairs.

I use rat bait stations around the cabin and barn. Reduces the mice and rats which in turn reduces the number of snakes frequenting the area.

That is a big ol' rat snake angus! I would have not only messed by britches, but squealed like a little girl if I'd of been reaching around and found that thing hiding in the straw.

Chicken snakes never get a pass from me. They are hard on the bird population and I like to bird hunt.

My cat like reflex days are behind be but these legs arnt going to let this body get in trouble. I always look before reaching in but this snake was hiding below the straw, not what I was expecting.

Wife said she is done collecting eggs

That big boy could hold a lot of eggs.

So what was the problem, it looks pretty dead to me.


I can't even imagine encountering a snake like that. One thing about living up here, the only snakes around here are small garter snakes.
They might be able to swallow a Robin egg but even those would be a huge meal for one of our snakes.

Honestly, I am very okay with that. Don't need no man eating snakes round here. No sir!

Nice. Never forget when I was little we had a big chicken house and I was gathering eggs after dark one night. Things were fine til I reached in a box and grabbed a chicken snake - never did that after dark again.

What would have REALLY terrified you would have been feeling it bite you! Those Texas rat snakes have bad tempers. I probably caught 50 of them in my lifetime and they will bite and draw blood with their little hooked back teeth. It would have been really scary until you saw that it wasn't a copperhead or worse yet a rattler!

Good snake to have around, as long as they aren't thieving eggs.

He wouldn’t have bothered you.

yep, at supper mom would ask (knowing I hadn't) did you get the eggs, go the chicken house after dark, no flashlight, never a snake, but once a possum, I wet myself

How old were you....I probably would have too....

X2!