Yesterday afternoon I let the chickens out into the big yard and entered the hen house to gather eggs. There, under the nesting boxes, I discovered a black racer, coiled up and enjoying a most egg-cellent feast. To be sure, I have learned to look before I reach for an egg!
Using the handle of our crab net, I pulled him out into the main part of the coop. Talk about being caught in the act! His jaw was unhinged, and his mouth was stretched over the fattest part of an egg.
He was so busy devouring that egg, he couldn't put up much of a fight. I don't know how many eggs he had already eaten, but only five remained in the nesting boxes. Last Tuesday I collected only 4 eggs. I'm sure the balance of that day's eggs went to our serpentine visitor, as well.
Rouse wasn't around to save the day, so I had to do it myself. I put the snake into a brown paper grocery bag. He certainly wasn't going anywhere. He was focused on eating!
I checked on him periodically to monitor the progress of the egg. It took about 30 minutes for the snake to totally swallow the egg.
After that, I folded the top of the bag down twice - creasing it smartly - then clamped it in the middle. I thought I'd wait for Rouse to get home before relocating the snake to some far off woodsy environment. Imagine my surprise when I went outside to show off my catch, only to find the bag misshapen and empty!
The egg thief is at large. Now I have to catch him again!
No comments:
Post a Comment