Say, what's that there in your mouth, big fella?
I've been missing eggs now for over a week, and I've thought my hens were striking. So here we have two scenarios:
1. The snake was eating the eggs, and
2. The hens went to lay elsewhere or just said "Screw this," because there was a freakin' SNAKE in their nests. If I came into work every day to find a snake in my chair, I'd strike, too. Wouldn't you?
If you're worried about what happened to the snake, stop reading right now!
I really hate to say it, but I called my brother-in-law to come dispatch the intruder. He said it was a "chicken snake" (a pretty generic term for non-poisonous snakes - a.k.a. rat snakes - who loiter around farms killing mice and stealing eggs) but wasn't interested in the whole catch-and-release procedure. I'm sure the snake was doing a fine job keeping the mouse population under control (I would have gladly let him stay if he'd left my eggs alone), but I'm not keeping hens for reptile food production, and we have another setter just two nests down from where I found him. She should be hatching soon - maybe this weekend (I'll post pics!) - so I just couldn't take the chance. :(
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