Frogs, Snakes, and Chickens

When I was walking down to let my chickens out this evening, I saw a cute little gray tree frog perched upon the edge of one of our stock tanks. These guys are quite welcome here and help take care of the bugs around the house. Sometimes we will find them tucked away in corners and the edges of windows.

Gray tree frogs have the ability to camouflage to either a green or gray color, but I think this guy was confused because the stock tank is gray. They can be found across the eastern half of the US and into parts of Canada. We are on the western edge of their known habitat. They usually only come down from the trees to breed, so he/she may be trying to attract a mate to make some tadpoles in this stock tank.

When I got closer to the chicken coop, I almost stepped on this large black rat snake. I would let a smaller one go, but my egg count has been low lately and I think this may be the cuplrit. Last year, I found one in the coop with a large, egg-shaped object low in his belly. Unfortunately, I can't let these guys hang around, so it was dispatched with the Winchester .22LR.

Black rat snakes can reach lengths of 7 feet and prey on a variety of foods including frogs, bird eggs, and small rodents. They are a constrictor which means they wrap around and suffocate their prey. Their habitat includes fields, woodland, and farms for most of the eastern half of the US. Central Oklahoma and Kansas are the western edge of their distribution. It is currently breeding season for them and we don't need any more of these slithering around.

Our chickens are doing well, although I think they're a bit safer with that big snake gone. We lost a few to predators earlier this year, but I tightened up security and we've been doing well since. We have some younger barred rock and buff orpington pullets that should begin laying soon. I found a small brown egg in the nesting box today which is a good sign. When they first start laying, their eggs are a bit smaller than adults, but will increase in size as they mature.

These guys are always on the move and hate to be photographed! I spread out some kitchen scraps to try to get them in one spot, but there's always a few blurred chicken heads. We have stopped breeding for now and hope to get a broody out of this new round of pullets we recently integrated. Breeding is a lot of fun, but I'd really like to have a dedicated outdoor brooding area. They make a lot of dust and layered a think amount on everything in my garage this winter.

Thanks for reading about my Frog, Snake, and Chicken encounter. I'm trying to get back into posting regularly on Steemit and the support from you guys is always encouraging. Also, thanks for supporting our military veterans on Steemit!