Did you know that snakes can find there way into your coop and harm not only the eggs but the chickens themselves? In fact, some snakes can consume eggs from the nest-box, kill the chickens or some larger size snakes can even eat your live chickens. With these chances lingering it is essential to take the necessary steps for keeping snakes out of your chicken coop or chicken house. Below are a few methods that can help keep snakes out of your coop:

Snakes can fit through any holes, cracks or opening in and around your coop. It only takes ¼ an inch of space for a snake to slither there way into your coop. Make sure any hole or crack that is larger than ¼ inch is filled to avoid them entering this way! You can use hardware cloth or any other type of hardware mesh to cover up any openings in your coop.

Along with covering up any holes or openings with hardware cloth/mesh you can also create a coop apron to keep the snakes out! A coop apron is just a wire mesh that is placed under the coop. It is important to make sure that the maximum 12 inches of wire extends out from underneath all sides of the coop while building a coop apron.

Tall and thick grass provides good shelter and hiding places for snakes. It is important to keep the grass area around your coop mowed down as well as remove any rock, wood, debris or brush piles to remove all convenient hiding places for the snakes near your coop.

Set out snake traps in the area surrounding your coop. There are many commercial snake deterrent products available (snake be gone being one of the top sellers) and by using these products snakes will keep away from your chicken coop! *Be sure to research before purchasing because some poisons and chemical agents can be harmful to your chickens.

Snakes love to eat small sized animals or birds and they will try to enter inside the coop to have an easy meal. It is important to never leave feed, eggs or any other type of easy snacks inside your chicken coop especially after dark!