Reptile & Amphibian Forums

The last 18 days my chickens have been sitting on eggs that were supposed to hatch on the 21st. You can imagine my shock when I went in today to find that all but 1 from a low shelf nest and the ground were gone without a trace, while eggs on a higher shelf were left untouched. I'm thinking it may be a snake because my dog usually chases the fox and weasles away. And there is a burro under my hen house that could be home to what could be a very big snake. The burro entrance is the size of an orange. I suspect a snake because any other animal would have left tracks, broken eggs shells and or a entrance hole in the fence. What do you all think? I live in Northern VA there are all sorts of snakes in this area. Is there a way to find out for sure what it is? Is it possible to catch and relocate? How would I go about it? Anyone have any ideas what else it could be. I lost about 18 eggs, possibly overnight or within a few days.

The fact that you lost 18 eggs in one night would indicate something other than a snake. Even a big rat snake would take a couple, maybe a few, never 18. And they would never hunt in a group. A number of mammalian predators would pick up eggs and carry them off for young.
A large hole under your barn/shed would probably not be made by a snake, although its possible one might hang out there. Black rat snakes, which you have there, tend to live in hollows of large trees, not underground.
You can put down flour to see what leaves a track, other mammalian predator you might be dealing with. The truth is though that as long as you have food available, a predator will move in to take advantage of it.
When I worked at Animal Control we had people who spent endless amounts of energy and money trying to get rid of raccoons, but refused to get rid of the bags of dog food in their garages that attracted them. You might be in the same situation. I would suggest trying to produce twice as many eggs as you actually want, then being OK with half being lost to predators!

Joe
http://www.herpnet.net
Reptiles and Amphibians of Iowa and Minnesota

Pic sent to me by a friend; Texas Rat Snake. Big and mean, but not capable of eating 18 eggs over the course of a few days.

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Chris McMartin
www.mcmartinville.com
I'm Not a Herpetologist, but I Play One on the Internet

The reason I suspected a snake was because most mammals would go for the chickens themselves right? But Ill try the flour and see what creeps up. I guess I'll count my losses and just purchase chickens instead.

>>The reason I suspected a snake was because most mammals would go for the chickens themselves right?

Well, eggs don't put up any resistance when you try to eat them.
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Chris McMartin
www.mcmartinville.com
I'm Not a Herpetologist, but I Play One on the Internet

>>The last 18 days my chickens have been sitting on eggs that were supposed to hatch on the 21st. You can imagine my shock when I went in today to find that all but 1 from a low shelf nest and the ground were gone without a trace, while eggs on a higher shelf were left untouched.

There is no way a snake would be able to eat all of those eggs in such a short time. Best possibility is that it is a family of rats stealing the eggs or a raccoon (or two). Opossums love eggs too but they would just eat them on the spot rather than steal and there would be plenty of evidence to show that in broken shells, etc.
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PHWyvern