Ok - I've never posted here, but I could use some advice.

I'll ask my questions as briefly as possible, but the background is also below.
- Is a juvenile black rat snake about 18" long, black with a white colored belly with an occasional speck of white throughout the black?
- Will a juvenile black rat snake rattle it's tail and strike at you?
- Will a juvenile black rat snake survive in a barn with high rafters to climb in but also several cats, goats, a donkey and 40 chickens?
- At what age do black rat snakes start eating good sized rodents (5" body)
- Will a black rat snake eat my eggs or chickens?
- What should I do to take care of her right now. I have not given her water, food or bedding, but I do have a small iguana basking light on her.

This is the situation: I live on 7 acres and I raise chickens (less than 40). I'm a novice and last summer when I saw a 5' long snake in the nesting boxes I over-reacted and killed it. I feel terrible about it and in hindsight, wish I had just trapped it and relocated it. It seemed rather docile and almost acted as if it felt that it was okay to stop hiding from me. At the same time it was probably eating my eggs and scaring the hens.

Anyway, I've recently noticed that the rodent population in the barn is becoming unmanageable - and wish the snake were back. Two days ago, one of my cats caught a snake. It looked just like the other snake, which I believe was a black rat snake, only in miniature. This snake is black with a white colored belly with an occasional speck of white throughout the black - probably measuring less than 18" long. I thought that a juvenile black rat snake had different coloration than an adult - so I'm not sure what it is. Pupils are round and head doesn't seem to be triangular, but I haven't gotten too close.

I put it in a container until I make an informed decision. I thought I might raise her and put her in the barn when she was large enough to fend for herself. Then after she had taken care of the rodent problem and started to discover the eggs, relocate her. But honestly, I don't really want to care for her - I have enough animals at this point. Also, every time I walk by the jar she tries to strike at me. She also shakes her tail as if she is a rattler - is this normal behavior?

I decided I'd let nature take it's course and released her into the pasture. The cats brought her back again today and she's back in the container. Any advice?

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