Every homesteader knows THE feeling.
The feeling of excitement that builds as you anticipate the birthing/hatching of new little partners in your homesteading adventure. It's that special moment in time when the hope of your R.O.I. of housing, feed and labor pays off in a multiplication of the herd, or in this case, flock.
Of course, having a fertile couple is only half the battle, the other half is in the aforementioned infrastructure, hence the saying, “don’t count your chickens until they’re hatched.” Having properly secured housing, as it turns out, is very important...
We were giddy with excitement over the fact that one of our Muscovy ducks had gone broody about 5 weeks prior. We were not exactly sure of the time that she started to sit on her clutch of eggs, but we did know that Muskovy ducks incubate their eggs for exactly 35 days. Our children really wanted us to buy some baby ducks from the local Tractor Supply just a few weeks back, but I confidently told them that we need not bother, since we'd be having our very own ducks for free in just a wee bit.
So, patiently we waited...
I’ve heard that a mama duck will know when one her eggs has gone bad and will roll the bad egg out of her nest. Our mama duck did just that for 3 of her eggs. She was sitting on 12 of them, so 9 out of 12 ain’t bad. Yup, no need to waste money on inferior Tractor Supply ducks when 9 BLUERthanGreen ducks would be here any day now.
Sadly, our patience didn't pay off. We and our poor mamma duck suffered a demoralizing loss of
Every.
Single.
Egg…
I happened to be down on the land when I noticed our mama duck was off her nest and walking around outside the coop. That giddy excitement I mentioned early flooded by bloodstream as I eagerly began looking around for her fuzzy little ducklings.
After a quick search that didn’t turn up anything I began to get suspicious. I figured they must of just not hatched yet. So, taking the opportunity to take a peek at her nest while she was off of it, I bent down and shone a light into her little cave.
Much to my surprise there weren’t any eggs in the nest!
??What The POOP??
I decided to look a little harder, thinking the ducklings were just off somewhere hiding. My second search netted zero results as well.
Something must have gotten into the nest and stolen the eggs! All that excitement, all that anticipation, gone! Flushed down the toilet in one fell swish.
My first suspects were either a raccoon or a possum. Something had been defecating outside of the coop at night, but since we lock the coop up at sunset, I knew that wasn’t a possibility.
That’s when I thought it could be a snake. The coop is made up of your typical chain link mesh because it is just a converted dog kennel with a plywood roof. Small enough to keep 4 legged predators out, but large enough to let a hungry and opportunistic snake in.
Mentally, I shook my fist at 
Unfortunately, it was nobody’s fault but our own. We trusted the seemingly secure and sturdy dog kennel to keep our foul safe. What we didn’t consider was here in the south, in relatively wild land with tall grasses nearby, rat snakes are common and to be expected. Shutting the door to the kennel each night did nothing to protect those potential baby ducks from their slithery next door neighbors.
To read more about rat snakes, check out
However, we are not going down without a fight! 
immediately went to work researching some defenses I can prepare to ready ourselves for the next hatching.
- Attach 1/2” or smaller wire mesh or welded wire around cage.
- Trim tall grasses nearby and move objects that could be potential hideouts
- Leave golf balls in nest (apparently, they will actually try swallowing these and die)
- Check coop before closing up each night (in case the snake is already hiding within)
- Sprinkle sulfur/cayenne pepper around coop/duck house
Ideas for defense gathered and summarized from: http://www.fresheggsdaily.com/2013/08/snake-in-duck-house-6-tips-to-repelling.html
We are implementing that plan now, except for the golf balls. I don't want to kill rat snakes. They serve a purpose on our homestead too! Just, their purpose is to eat the creatures that I don't want!
Have any of you had a problem with snakes? What has been your strategy to keep them at bay? Hopefully more and more of us beginner homesteaders will take the time to share our losses and education to each other.
Thanks for Reading!
As always,