He tried to get away but this 14 year old girl was too fast for him.
It was late and in the dark corner of a chicken coop sat a mama duck on a nest full of eggs. My daughter went in to check on the eggs to see if any were hatching. It has been close to the 28 day incubation period for this clutch of eggs. There on the nest was this huge Texas Rat Snake!
On our farm we don't freak out over nature. We love the balance that nature can bring, but we don't like to let the snakes get free meals of hatching eggs if we can prevent it. Texas Rat Snakes are wonderful at keeping mice and rats in check. When there are lots of rodents the snakes show up. This is nature's way of keeping balance. I love it... however, the Rat Snakes can be a bit lazy too. They love a free eggy snack. They will sometimes slither right up under a sitting hen and take the eggs right from under her. This is what this guy was trying to do with this mama duck.
My daughter loves ducks! She did not want to see this entire clutch of eggs disappear in one evening to one hungry serpent. She reacted quickly (after pausing just long enough to identify the snake as non-venomous) by pinning down his head then gently lifting to support his body weight to carry him out of the coop.
I was in the neighboring coop feeding chickens when I heard "Dad! I caught a snake!". She was both excited and surprised!. I'm so proud of her. She did not fear the reptile and was handling it with respect and care. We looked at him, admiring his beauty while my daughter told her story. Our French exchange student was there to experience the excitement as well.
The event is over so now what? Many would chose to kill the snake. In the past, when we didn't know any better, we eliminated a few ourselves, but now we like to try to let them live. We know that relocating them likely means they will be back, but our hopes are that they will find another barn to patrol and stay out of our eggs. My daughter and our French guest jumped in the golf cart to drive him about a quarter mile down the road to let him go.
Bye bye Mr. Texas Rat Snake. Thank you for the good times!
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