When One's Not Enough

As if it's not heartwarming enough to find one large snake coiled amongst the rafters of the newly established hen house, then imagine my delight and joy to find a second snake snugly placed in an old bird's nest just beneath the large snake!  Lucky, lucky farm girl that I am, this joy was soon surpassed when I later found that the smaller, bird-nesting snake had slithered down the wall and into one of the nest boxes where it began to devour the eggs that my hens laid - obviously just for him.

Unfortunately, the senior snake was immobilized by the golf ball it had swallowed earlier in the week, something we always place into at least one nest box as a decoy egg.  It helps remind the girls that eggs go in the baskets - a trick that works and proves that, no, chickens aren't too bright.  Unfortunately snakes, or this one in particular, aren't too bright either as it ate four eggs plus one golf ball over the course of an afternoon.  Since that time it's been unable to move from its spot, bulging awkwardly from the indigestible golf ball.

Regardless of the pure elation the sight of two large snakes elicits, we decided we can't happily co-exist (we, the snakes, and the hens) since I'm pretty sure the eggs are supposed to be for us - not the neighborhood wildlife.  Jeremy dispatched them quickly, but I still feel a twinge of guilt since they belong to the family of "good" snakes that eat bad stuff too (along with our eggs).  Below is photo evidence of the golf ball debacle which surely would have caused a long and painful death, anyway.  Go ahead and stop scrolling if the sight of snakes (especially those that have perished) causes a gag reflex, shivers, or other unsavory reactions.

Endearingly titled: "Caught in the Act - you egg-eating a$$hole."

Ack.