Never had a problem for 4 years.
NOW In the last 2 weeks I have removed a black snake and a rat snake -both very large - 5ft or better.
Now, eggs are vanishing again.
Any ideas on how to catch the culprit?
Seems to be happening in the middle of the day 10am - 2pm basically.
Saw 3 eggs under a hen about 10 this morning. Went and looked a while ago - no eggs.
And if I relocate the snakes, will they come back?
Thanks in advance for your help.

Do you know where it is coming in?

No. I sure don't.

If you can check multiple times a day. When I have any issues on the farm nothing gets relocated. No reason to give it a 2nd chance to come back.

Could have an egg eating chicken as well. One will teach the others. If I see yoke on a beak if I go in at night when they are on the roost that bird gets removed.

I've noticed chicken snakes and blue racers love to slither up a 1'' black plastic pipe. What you do when he gets up there is up to you. I had a water line coming out of an unused drier vent and I got a 4 1/2 ft chicken snake under the kitchen table and a 3 1/2 ft blue racer laying behind the wood stove. A can of foam stopped that.

Buy a moongose on the black market.

Buy a couple of fake eggs, glass or wood and put them with the other eggs. The snake will not be coming back.

Definitely no more 2nd chances if I catch the snake.

Bigger minnow traps will work to catch them. Place an egg inside or just set them against the wall. Snakes generally travel along wall barriers.

This is how I solved that problem as well.

This doesn' help current snake problem, but I'm of the belief that a lot of chicken predator problems do not start with chickens or eggs, but the rats and mice the free food in a chicken house attracts. Initially they come for the infestation of rats and mice, then transition to the chickens and eggs. Snakes, mink, weasels, skunks.......some feral cats, maybe fox. Very good reason to try hard to keep rats and mice out of your chicken house.

yes what hayday said

Golf balls also work.

Thanks for all the tips. Appreciate it.

Exactly!!
I’ve got a monster size ole black snake that lives around the wife’s chicken house. It gets an egg on occasion, but I’ve never laid eyes on a mouse or rat out there, so it can have a few eggs.

When I was a wildlife officer... I had a famer that was having all kinds of problem with black and corn snakes getting after his eggs but didn't want to kill them but to release them far, far away. All of the live traps I had were made from 1 x 2 inch mesh wire. I figured most snake would be able to crawl through the mesh. I noticed the farmer had a roll of 1/4 " mesh wire and told if he would donate the wire to me, I thought i could catch the culprits.

So, I took the wire and covered all of the trap with this wire except for the bottom. I put 2 eggs in each of 2 traps. I cracked 1 egg in each trap and set them under the laying boxes.

The first check were got 2 snakes in one trap and 1 in the other. I took the traps about 16 miles away and released at a wildlife area. Took the traps back and reset them. I ended up catching 7 snakes in 12 days. One day we had a hen in one of the traps, it was released unharmed. There were both corn snakes and black snakes in the mix. One black snake was just shy of 7 feet long. All it cost him was the wire and a couple dozen eggs. Just make sure you place the eggs well behind the pan.

Garry-

Minnow trap with a little straw and a few eggs. Will catch all the snakes you have. Rats as well.