How to Deal with Snake problems

Looks like a smart idea!

You could also just get a herd of guinea fowl which would handle the snakes on thier own, but then you'd have to deal with a herd of guinea fowl, might be easier to deal with the snakes.
 
With my luck, just as I went to pick up the minnow trap the snake would discover a way out.

Just had never heard of anyone doing anything like that before. Really not looking forward to someday opening up the nesting box lid and finding a rattler at face level.
 
Very interesting solution. Yes, copperheads do tend to congregate. A place about 20 miles from my house has copperheads by the THOUSANDS congregate under the same cedar tree at the same time in the fall. His mistake was to report this to the Game and Fish department people. They told him it would be illegal to kill them. If it were my place, I would have doused them with kerosene and burned them all then say nothing to anyone. I may try the trap thing. This reminds me, I found one in my shop a couple years ago. It was sitting on a shelf and I was reaching towards it.:eek: But fortunately, instinct kicked in and I stopped. copperhead.jpg
 
First I have to marvel at the fact that there is a chicken forum, I guess there is a forum for every subject possible.
Ingenious idea as you say you don't want to have one at face level when lifting eggs.
While I do not like snakes one bit, especially having lived with some of the most poisonous and deadly snakes in the world, I also think of the downside of not having them around. In your case what other predator is there that would adequately keep the rodent population under control.
So I would be more inclined to do catch and release but release where?
If you follow the point someone on that forum made of relocating them to do what they made for, then they for sure not close enough to do it to your benefit.
Killing them also not.
I also cannot help but think baited traps only serves to attract them even more than normal if I was to be baiting it would be away from coop so there is least connection.
I tend to think along the lines of increasing their natural predator to bring back balance.
Also aside from rattler in your face at egg collection time, effort put into prevention needs to be on a par to experienced loss rather than prevention for sake of it. The in your face thing would be the bigger issue of all to me. That comes back to can you engineer the coop such that eggs roll to a location where no snake can get to??? Not sure that's easy to do given egg has to enter where ever that will be and do so on its own.
Interesting side effect of living where you are.
Yup I guess I am back to bait and blast them out of existence and do the same for the rodent. Lol

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My policy with snakes around here is to let the non poisonous ones do their thing around the outside of the house.

Poisonous ones that are near the house get relocated to a higher plane of existence. It's actually illegal to relocate them, although I know some people that do.

Away from the house and it's live and let live.

The rodents are waking up and it's time to get busy trapping them.

Did I mention I trapped a feral cat a while ago? We had him fixed and have been trying to tame him, but it's not going especially well. I'm going to build him a little outdoor house and pen and hopefully he will stay around the place and help take care of the rodents and other critters for us.

We have him in the guest bathroom and he's getting really used to 3 meals a day and being around us. He's just not showing any signs of ever becoming a cat that would be compatible with our other animals, or us for that matter. But I do like the idea of having him do critter patrol.
 
That's what they say about the gopher snakes and rattlers. I've gotten very tolerant of the gopher snakes.
 
Your own bathroom and 3 meals a day. When can I move in?

He must have known I was typing that. Had a bit of a breakthrough today. He actually started purring and let us pet him a bit without scratching the hell out of us.

He even came up and layed down under the little stool I sit on when I go in there to feed him and do our 'socialization' time.

ash_chilling.jpgcatscratch.jpg
 
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