snakes

[kmthor]

anyone else getting a lot of snakes iv had 2 in 2 days now?

[flynnsart]

none in the yard as yet, but passed about three dead ones on the road in last day or so, and neighbors had a couple of biggies in their shed.

Donna

[kmthor]

i think it must be matting season? i had a 1.2 browny today and a tree snake yesterday +- .5 . i do hope if i get one tomorrow it isnt double in size again

km

[endgrain]

Yep, the house python that lives in the shed has grown at least a foot this year and the browns/ blacks are out and about, hangin' around the dam. Kookas should keep them down a bit. Must remember to check the chook shed wire tomorrow. More concerned about foxes hereabouts. Ta for the reminder.

[damian]

A freinds wife mentioned the other day she saw 3 on the way to picking up one of the kids down the road.

It'll probably be a big year for them because of the rain. Everything is breeding up, more food more predators.

I reckon it's going to bucket down all summer this year.

[Fuzzie]

Yep breeding season. However I haven't seen as many this year as last year. This time last year we had a new cat that was the first hunter out of the 4 cats we have had. First week we had him he brought 4 snakes home :o

Unfortunately he was a very active cat that raced around the neighborhood and is now a flat cat :( which surprised me, I was sure he was going to be someones dinner.

[Yeldarb]

Saw a dead Brown on my lunch time pushy ride today. We've only had a couple of warmiush days...still pretty cold at night too.

[elmoticus]

Yep, we have had a family of Brown Tree snakes living under our high set house for a number of years now, very active at the moment. They only come out at night and they must have a particular scent because our red heeler lets us know when one is around before she can even see it. They are no trouble and we even think they might keep some of the other more dangerous species away from the house area as well as rodents.Every year we find the shed skins stuck on a floor joist or drain pipe, the biggest is about 1.8

[Woodlee]

My baby is 6 1/2 feet now. The second pic is fairly recent ,she's in her new 7' enclosure.
Got another about 2 months ago a baby childrens' python .

Kev.

[weisyboy]

there on the move all right we got 2 in the last week and seen a few other around

[Iain]

I have an effective snake repellent spray that works well, haven't had to use it this year yet but we get some big tigers.

[Buzza]

A snake spray? Let me see now, little balls of metal spraying out of a 12G tube? :)

I'm keen to know of any other kind of snake spray though. :-

[Iain]

Option #1 was correct:wink:

[fenderbelly]

Saw some of these at Atherton, lady said she keeps them to keep the snakes down,
they can kill a Tiapan in 4 minutes.
Guinnea Fowl

http://i75.photobucket.com/albums/i300/plodger/OutbacktourofQueensland426.jpg

Cheers Fred

[flynnsart]

I HATE GUINEA FOWL:q Horrible noisy things.:no:

They kick up a ruckus if they spot a snake, a goanna, a leaf move.

Nice peaceful bush, lovely night and then those blasted horrible birds start making a ruckus. Neighbor has them, and they freerange (as most guinea fowl tend to do, you cant catch the buggers short of using a cast net) of course they freerange on our block as it has trees:doh:Of course, goannas love the fact that they freerange and leave nice nests of eggs everywhere!

I'd rather have the snakes.:2tsup:

On the subject of snakes, we've had a couple of visits by a couple of tree snakes in the last week.

Donna

[kmthor]

neighbor called me over to get a browny couple of days ago. all the people iv spoken to seem to have had a few through

km

[Buzza]

I knew a bloke that lived near a river, and he had to go to the river bank each evening to do a job (pump or some such). He found that a Tiger Snake had made itself a permanant home right where he needed to put his boot down to climb down. Against all he believed in, he shot the snake and tossed it onto the road, where passing trucks and cars soon flattened it out. The very next night, another Tiger had made itself right to home in the exact same spot. He then decided to make a new track for himself fifty metres further up the river and away from the Tiger Snake Heaven. :D

[Wood Borer]

Our Red Bellied Blacks are starting to enjoy the sun although it is still frosty in the mornings. One crawled over Meg's boot whilst she was mowing the grass last week - she must have disturbed it.

We love snakes and would never harm them. We have two pet pythons.

Car drivers, druggies, rapists, burglars, politicians, CEOs of large multinational companies and other general human scum plus cats and dogs present a far greater threat to humans than snakes. I would gladly knock any of these on the head long before I would hurt a snake.

Most people have lost close ones to road trauma, to the effects of industrial pollution or to criminal activity but hardly anyone knows someone who has died as the result of snake bite. Most snake bites are the result of people trying to mess around with the snakes.

I was brought up on a farm with heaps of tiger snakes, brown snakes and the occasional red bellied black. I can't name anyone who was bitten by any of them. I can however name 20 or 30 people killed by idiot car drivers. I can name two or three people I knew murdered by humans, I can name several people who have died from industrial accidents or the results of industrial pollution.

For some strange reason people illogically detest snakes and go into a mad frenzy wanting to kill snakes. It makes no sense.

Get your priorities right and if you have to kill, kill the things that are a real threat to you - not things that present virtually no threat to you.

[madmix]

Usually have to relocate 4 or 5 from my verandah each season, mostly
pythons or brown tree snakes. This year has been bad for mice and
plenty of snakes now on the move. Had a taipan early last week and
on Sunday as I went to go outside one of my dogs jumped in front
and took hold of a bloody big brown, took a strike for his trouble and
finished up costing me a swag at the vets, but hey he may well have
saved my life.
Sorry borer, I did take half the snake to the vet but it was beyond help.
I know several people who have been bitten and contrary to popular
belief, all were minding their own business and two didnt even know they
had been bitten unil they finished up in hospital.
chers Mick.

[Jack E]

I was bitten by a tiger snake once.

I wasn't minding my own business though. We were kids looking for blue tongue lizards. I saw a small reptilian head and grabbed it. I then realised it wasn't a blue tongue and let it go.

I must have upset it because it bit me.

I have stepped on a few and come close to a lot since then.

I admire them from afar and wouldn't go out of my way to kill one.

[Wood Borer]

Of course if anything is a direct threat to your family your would take steps to eliminate the threat whether it be a fierce dog, a snake or a pedophile. The greater the threat, the more drastic elimination method.

My earlier point was the frenzied misguided approach some people have towards snakes. Many people upon seeing a snake even if it is no direct threat to them (say out in the bush), froth at the mouth and jump up and down shouting kill kill kill - idiots with a severe mental problem I feel.

[mic-d]

Our black cat likes to bring us a present a few times each summer. Usually it's a green tree snake and so far amazingly they have all been unharmed. I've got quite comfortable just picking them up and releasing them outside. SWMBO called me inside for another one the other day and when I cornered it in the bedroom, it seemed a bit more active than usual. I was down on my knees to get a better position to pick it up when it decided to head up the leg of my cargo pants. Damn that's never happened before:? I stood up pretty quick and flicked it out. I can't remember what happened next but I had it by the body in one hand and was moving my other hand to get a higher grip when it struck at me and just scraped my fingertip with a fang. Damn, THAT'S never happened before! Next thing I know, I've got control of it behind the head and look under it's belly and sure enough it's cream and pinkish spots. Oh, that's an eastern brown, one of the most deadly snakes in the world, that could have gone better I was thinking, it could have gone a lot worse. So there I am sitting bizzarly quite relaxed having an exchange with SWMBO about whereabouts I'm going to put this brown snake in my hand, she is looking learily at from outside the bedroom. In the end I let it down the bloody great deep stormwater drain that flows to a nearby creek.
That was a bloody close call, the problem was my eyes had not adjusted to the dim light inside. I've had one more green snake to deal with since then, but I'm bloody a sight more careful in my identification before I get too close.

Cheers
Michael

[flynnsart]

That was a lucky call, could have been terrible.

We have had a couple of tree snakes in the house so far, no browns yet. They would be around I think tho as we had a lot of mice this year, and still have a few hanging around. My dogs are a good warning (if they arent sleeping) The smaller one barks his head off and its a different kind of bark, and the big Rotty, comes trotting purposefully out to whereever I am and leans against me and looks worriedly back to where hes spotted the snake.

Donna

[Buzza]

On the subject of snake bites and near misses and clearing the things away from the house etc; does anyone know the "Out Of Pocket Expenses" if one does get bitten? I have heard treatment runs into thousands of dollars. :oo:

[madmix]

Hi Buzza, my dogs treatment was just shy of $800, but could have
been a lot more except that I got him to the vet before paralysis
set in. I presume they use the same anti venom @ $400 a pop.

By the way, it seems a lot of people are not aware that the
eastern brown tree snake is dangerous but not regarded as deadly.


Ha Ha Ha!!!! a brownie up the strides, I can imagine the reaction,
was laying down reading one arvo, when one comes over my shoulder.
Nearly hit my head on the roof and then had to get it out from under
the bed.
cheers Mick

[prozac]

I can however name 20 or 30 people killed by idiot car drivers. I can name two or three people I knew murdered by humans, I can name several people who have died from industrial accidents or the results of industrial pollution.

Jesus H Wood Borer, I think it a safer bet hangin' around with snakes than hangin' around you!

mic-d close call.

[Buzza]

Let's face it, there are more cars and crazies around than snakes. I rarely see snakes these days, living in a suburb, and yet when I moved here in the sixties, snakes would visit most backyards, and the biggest snake I found here was over eight feet with the head lopped off. I found him dead on the side of a road here and he was still fresh.

They are protected, and unless they are a real threat and a skirmish begins, just try to remove them to a safe place. Call a snake removalist.

Meanwhile, from the sanctity of my backyard, I listen to the "Car Hoons" acting crazy all day long. I smell the burning rubber floating through the area ay least twice a day. I just hope those school kids walking home get there without mishap. :oo:

[Wood Borer]

Jesus H Wood Borer, I think it a safer bet hangin' around with snakes than hangin' around you!


Just call me Lucky Star :wink:

No seriously none of these mishaps happened in my presence or were caused by me or caused by my actions.

It's that us humans present by far the highest risk to our own kind than anything else does but our flawed thinking leads us to ignore that fact so we blame and obliterate creatures that present a relatively much smaller risk.

To make the matter even worse, those creatures presenting the much smaller risk to us increase their chance of hurting us whilst we are going out of our way to kill them. :doh::doh::doh:

My thoughts on this matter however are in the minority and it seems that panic stricken emotion fueled by myths is the common thinking on this subject.

[Kym]

A couple of ours, but they live downstairs, not running wild, being decimated by snake spray!

Cheers
Kym

[Wood Borer]

Nice healthy looking snakes, obviously well looked after :2tsup:

One of ours is in my avatar.

[cellist]

anyone else getting a lot of snakes iv had 2 in 2 days now?

Just this little one that decided to bite the electric fence...

[Kym]

I can't get my eyes to focus that small. How about a big pic?

I know just how you feel! I get infuriated at the death and destruction of habitat by ignorant and ill informed. If I hear another pythons breeding with brown snakes story again I will spit the dummy.

On the relative rating of venomous about brown snakes. They are very dangerous, I think I would rather be bitten by a taipan, at least the symptoms and progression of illness is well understood with them. Both are nervous flighty snakes but you are more likely to get a sudden brain haemorhage with the brown snake. We only have pythons and a pair of Djarra's DA's. I told hubby having venomous elapids is smelly and they are too quick for him these days. At least with the DA's, if you stay out of range, its sweet. They aren't inclined to come shooting out of their cage at the first rattle of the door.

Mind you, I don't feed the DA's either, I have goanna's, he has the snakes.

Anyway, I am wandering all over this topic, I should pipe down

Cheers
Kym



Nice healthy looking snakes, obviously well looked after :2tsup:

One of ours is in my avatar.

[Vernonv]

Just this little one that decided to bite the electric fence...
Are you sure that's an electric fence? ... doesn't look like one.

Is it true that they taste like chicken?:o:q:U

[flynnsart]

Usually have a good look around the vegie patch before I venture in each afternoon, but it is friday and a couple of scotches later forgot to have a look and startled a snake which promptly took off in the other direction, dont know what it was, dark in colour. Teach me to look first:doh:

Donna

[madmix]

Howdy Vernon, Havnt tried snake so cant say for sure, but
have eaten goanna and crocodile, apart from being like rubber I suppose
you could describe it as chicken, at least its white meat which makes it
easy to pick off the coals.

Just a couple of news items, (7 Wide Bay) local snake catcher called out
to remove 14 eastern browns in one week.
ABC Dog saves 3yr old from brown snake at Eumundi.

So it does look like being a bad year for browns

cheers Mick

[prozac]

Is it true that they taste like chicken?:o:q:U

Esp. if they've been eating yours!

[flynnsart]

Felt some beady eyes on me when I had a shower today, and spotted a snake in the ceiling above the shower. Had a look from the wc and saw that it was a brown tree snake. It was probably up there looking for the frogs which hang out in the bathroom.

Donna

[Kym]

My hubby and I once had a call to remove some snakes from a house in an outer suburb. The woman on the phone said that there was snakes were coming out of the walls. Hubby and I looked at each other thinking, "woohoo a nut case". We were pretty cautious about walking up to the house but woman who appeared seemed perfectly normal.
She took around the back of the house to the rear brick wall and yep, there were multiple snakes coming out of her wall. Baby common tree snakes half out of the holes in the mortar. We picked off over 20 and set them free in the bush. The mother must have layed her eggs under the house, it was low set but not ground level, so they were somewhere in the foundations and the babies crawled up the brick work til they found little exits in the brickwork. Cute as bugs.

Kym

[flynnsart]

That would have been pretty special:2tsup:

[Kym]

It was! They were sort of trembling like little vines as if there was a gentle breeze blowing.
I think I would have been startled by a snake over my head though!

Cheers
Kym

[flynnsart]

I had intended to wash my hair, but settled for a quick wash instead :q

Donna

[madmix]

Poor old dog took another hit today, but apart from some severe
swelling to the face, appears to be OK. Stil to identify snake, should have
taken a pic to post here, pale blue underbelly and greyish upper about
75cm and very lively. Bloody thing was lying on my front step, so I
went out the back and came arround with my snake pole but the dog
got there first, didnt realise he had been hit until several hours later.
Swelling seems to be going down slowly.

cheers Mick

[prozac]

Hope the dog is recovered Mick.

Down here in suburbia there's a few snakes about as well. Better half went for a walk around Manly Dam the other day and bumped into a big red belly black on the track. Quietly waited for it to wriggle into the undergrowth and started to walk on only to have it wriggle out in front of her again on the other side of the scrub. Had to stop and wait all over again.

[do-it-dog]

I've got a question. I'm about to move to brown snake country (western NSW) and snakes are sitll a novelty to me and I still get a kick out of seeing them (although not so much with browns).

I understand that if a brown snake attacks, it wraps itself around a limb and starts biting. My question is what do you do then - do you wait for it to stop - or do you try to whack it hard with anything at hand in an attempt to get it off you? Or does this just make it more excited? (the snake not me).

[do-it-dog]

And madmix what is your snake pole and what do you do with it? Seriously (no inuendo intended!)

[do-it-dog]

More questions!!

Is it good to have a dog around in snake country? And can I keep chickens (other than for snake food)?

[Old farmer]

do-it-dog, please be very careful of the browns, the tigers and the adders, if these last two are in your country.We are on the Tablelands and these are the snakes we see.

We are told, and I have come to believe, that the best thing to do with any snake is to leave it alone, that more people are bitten when trying to kill a snake.

The brown is very aggressive, will rear up, ready to strike, when you come within 2 metres, may even follow you if you retreat.

I have never heard of a brown wrapping himself/herself around a leg but do not deny the possibility. To kill it would be my over-riding thought.

You will know not to cut the wound, nor suck it. Try to stay calm, and bind the limb.

The advice is to not move and be taken to medical care with a description of the snake so that the correct anti-venom can be given, I have never understood how one can do this if alone and out in the paddock! It seems that a long ride/walk/drive back to the house is the only way to have help.

Red-bellied blacks are more frightened of you than you of them. Give them space and they will go. The three above may not.

[Old farmer]

do-it-dog, Sorry to come on again but have just seen your last two questions.

We have always had dogs, of course, have lost three to snakes, brown, probably.

I do not think we have lost any hens to snakes. Goannas wil take your eggs, as you will know. Foxes and wild dogs will take your hens. A dog will take one, probably, whilst a fox might bite the heads off a dozen and take one hen away for a feed.

Losing hens in this manner hurts. Losing a good dog, and for some reason it is always one of your good ones, leaves you bereft.

[do-it-dog]

Old farmer thanks for your knowledege - I wish I knew as much as you guys do.

I hope I haven't become too worried about the browns (and I've learned the medical advise if bitten) but I guess it's better to be too cautious than too blase.

I like coming across the black snakes and as you say they always disappear when they hear me coming.

I guess I was wondering if a dog warned you of snakes or if their presence kept the snakes away?

[flynnsart]

We have a lot of snakes around here, probably a few more than normal as i am a lover of frogs and have ponds and lots of growth around. We have taught our dogs from early on that snakes are bitie hot, (they know bitie hot from food), the rottie comes and leans on me and looks towards snakes with a worried look on his face, and the other one barks with a recognisable different bark from normal. The other two dogs arrived later and dont have this education. They are a worry, but you can tell when they have seen one, I think a natural sort of wariness? I dont try and kill the snakes, but let them know I am there if they are in the house/shak, and they get nervous and eventually leave of their own accord, if they are in the yard, I just let them be. I am always looking for them, the worst thing is to startle them or tread on them. You can have chooks and dogs, and still live in harmony with them, just be aware, collect your eggs regularly, when you have chickens, keep them in separate pen with tiny chicken wire. Keep your regular walking trails with clear spaces on each side. Worst time for browns (aggressive time) is spring, and to slightly lesser extent summer.

Remember, a good snake dog.....is a dead dog.

Donna

[flynnsart]

We have a lot of snakes around here, probably a few more than normal as i am a lover of frogs and have ponds and lots of growth around. We have taught our dogs from early on that snakes are bitie hot, (they know bitie hot from food), the rottie comes and leans on me and looks towards snakes with a worried look on his face, and the other one barks with a recognisable different bark from normal. The other two dogs arrived later and dont have this education. They are a worry, but you can tell when they have seen one, I think a natural sort of wariness? I dont try and kill the snakes, but let them know I am there if they are in the house/shak, and they get nervous and eventually leave of their own accord, if they are in the yard, I just let them be. I am always looking for them, the worst thing is to startle them or tread on them. You can have chooks and dogs, and still live in harmony with them, just be aware, collect your eggs regularly, when you have chickens, keep them in separate pen with tiny chicken wire. Keep your regular walking trails with clear spaces on each side. Worst time for browns (aggressive time) is spring, and to slightly lesser extent summer.

Remember, a good snake dog.....is a dead dog.

The attached pic is one I found in our raised garden bed one day.

Donna

[Vernonv]

We have always had a dog and chickens at our place and would often see snakes near the house - mainly blacks, but also browns and on one occasion a tiger. But since we got a couple of cats a year of so ago, we have not seen any. I'm NOT a cat person, but I put up with the expendable buggers, if they keep the snakes away from the house and therefore the kids and the dog.

My observation with snakes is that the blacks tend to go after frogs and lizards (cold blooded animals) and the brown and tigers tend to go for rodents (warm blooded animals). Most of the browns we see are near the chicken coup and I suspect that is because there are rodents up there (because of the chook feed). We have even had a duck killed during an altercation with a brown snake.

We now let the chickens roam free (during the day) and only put out enough feed that they can eat in one go. This and the cats seem to keep the rodents under control and either directly or indirectly the snakes.

[seriola]

We live on the coast in a rural area with a lot of snakes, mainly western browns, king browns and mulga snakes. One of the neighbours installed some sentinel snake deterrents at the beginning of last summer with results that have to be better than coincidence. We installed some the end of last summer and up until now no snakes have entered our space.

True no elephants either, but if we go through the season without a snake in the vicinity of the house then it will pretty well convince me coz that will be a first in the 8 years I have been here. I like to live and let live and with the rock walls and gardens I have it is snake and lizard heaven here, so if they work here should work anywhere.

[do-it-dog]

Thanks for all the info! Particularly re dogs and chooks. I'm keen to have both and would like to be able to let the chooks out during the day. Looks like it's not a problem. I can't recall seeing any properties with chooks in our area so I wondered if there was a reason.

I'm like you flynnsart, I don't want to harm them but would rather not have them around the yard where an accident could happen.

The snake deterrents sound interesting - I'd be interested to hear how successful they are long term.

vernonv - do you reckon the cats are actually keeping the snakes away - or are they eating the rodents that would normally bring the snakes around? I'm not a cat person either (I might even prefer snakes) but I read that cats have a better tolerance to snake bite than a lot of other animals.

[Vernonv]

vernonv - do you reckon the cats are actually keeping the snakes away - or are they eating the rodents that would normally bring the snakes around? I'm not a cat person either (I might even prefer snakes) but I read that cats have a better tolerance to snake bite than a lot of other animals.

To be honest, I don't know. It could be a bit of both. This season we have found I dead black snake in the house yard - that could have been the cats.
I'm not sure whether cats have a better tolerance to snake bites, but cats certainly are quicker and more agile, than most other animals, so that probably makes them less likely to get bitten in the first place.

[madmix]

Hi prozac, the loyal mutt appears fully recovered and it is back to
fighting him for the drivers seat in the truck, at least I get to choose
the radio station now that lawsie is not on the air.

do-it-dog I see you have had a few good replies with plenty of
useful info and it would appear you are pretty level headed by your
posts, so just remember to treat them with caution and you will be
fine. As far as my snake pole goes, I have a couple, but I mainly use
an old fishing gaff with the point rounded off and my favorite is a
dutch hoe.
As far as chooks go, you will probably lose more to foxes/dingoes and
eagles/hawks than snakes, but I have lost several up to about six weeks
old to large pythons. and it is not uncommon to lose eggs that are
about to hatch and or day old chicks to smaller snakes, personally I
wont put my hand under a sitting chook to check for eggs. Mind you
I have had chooks kill snakes to protect their eggs. cheers Mick

[Old farmer]

do-it-dog, I have delayed asking this question because of Christmas but have you decided on the breed of hen you will run, please? I am assuming you want layers and not meat?

[do-it-dog]

Old farmer - no I haven't thought about which breed of hen yet. And yes I do want layers rather than meat. Could you recommend a good breed?

[endgrain]

australorps (http://gawler.backyardpoultry.com/photos/2006/june/lg%20heavy%20breed%20Australorp%20Plt,%20B%20Chapman%20IMG_2934.JPG)
Pullets are best if you can wait.
& quick trip down to the hairdresser for some foils and she'll be all set for the new years bash down at the lismore sportsground. (http://www.tropicalfruits.org.au/index.php?page=Schedule)

[Old farmer]

do-it-dog, Yes, the Australorp is a good breed, as endgrain writes, and I am sure many agree with him about their being the "best", if you can say that about any breed!

Mum and Dad ran White Leghorns, originally an Italian breed, light in body-weight and somewhat flighty when compared with heavier birds. Nevertheless, I was always blessed with a good Kelpie which would herd them from the paddock late in the afternoon and house them for the night without stressing them. They lay white eggs, of course.

A White LeghornXAustralorp is a very good layer, tinted eggs.

About ten years ago, the Isa Brown breed became very popular in Australia and we tried some for a few years. They lay brown eggs, are much more placid than the Leghorns but they worried us because too many laid large eggs when too young, thus damaging themselves sometimes, and they could be cannibalistic if one was injured.

The Isa Brown may be different now as we have not had any since 2003 and I do not want to be critical without knowledge.

Hens are like horses in that, if you ask ten poultrymen their opinion you receive ten different answers!, so others may well disgree with me in all of this.

Whatever you decide, good luck. Hens, and dogs, are wonderful creatures.

[Vernonv]

We have had a few Australorps and they are good layers. But the best lot we have had were some Isa Browns, we got from the University. They were caged birds, maybe 1 year old and they took a bit to acclimatise to free range. But they have been the best layers we have had. Normally our chickens stop laying during winter (including the Australorps), but these Isa brown have been going strong for well over a year now.

[Old farmer]

Sorry to come on again but, re-reading the posts, do-it-dog, I see I have not mentioned the Maremma stock-guard dog. Probably you know of them.

They came from Italy originally, are a large dog, generally of a light colour, I think.

They live with the stock they are to guard, bond very closely with them. I imagine they are no good in a built-up area as they bark much, especially during the night. We have never had one so I cannot speak from first-hand experience as to their worth against snakes but neighbours who have them swear by them.

[rotten_66]

Have five Isa Browns, in a suburban backyard. Got them at around 23 weeks old, and started getting eggs within a week or two of that. This was three years ago, get 2-5 eggs everyday, and they have only stopped laying once for about a two month period (Don't know why)

They are really placid, and inquisitive and definitely not the smartest birds around.

Cousin that got some at the same time from same source had problems with cannibalism, one got a bit of a mark and the rest hopped in, I had to do the deed to the injured one as he couldn't do it.

[endgrain]

The neighbours next door just lost two silkies to what we think was a fox/dingo/feral (or 2) the other night.
Tracked the feathers from their bottom paddock where they have a small dome shelter (not secure) down to our chook 'ouse, then eventually to the edge of the dam. Appears our bent predators decided to entertain our secure chooks with a bleedin' visual spectacular by the light of the silvery moon!
(Bloody tail feathers found within a few feet of the usual sleeping perch)
Amazing that we didn't hear a squawk or even one gutteral cluck! .
Interesting thing was, there was not one bone to be found anywhere. Was thinking this may determine what species of predator we have in our midst .... perhaps an underfed local escapist terrier? any thoughts folks?

[Old farmer]

I'll vote for the fox, endgrain, but I have a thing about them !

They are cruel, silent, one-hit killers which, somehow, do their work without alarming the flock.

Apparently, a Maremma warns them off by barking and vigilance.

[Buzza]

Have five Isa Browns, in a suburban backyard. Got them at around 23 weeks old, and started getting eggs within a week or two of that. This was three years ago, get 2-5 eggs everyday, and they have only stopped laying once for about a two month period (Don't know why)

They are really placid, and inquisitive and definitely not the smartest birds around.

Cousin that got some at the same time from same source had problems with cannibalism, one got a bit of a mark and the rest hopped in, I had to do the deed to the injured one as he couldn't do it.

The chooks stop laying because they go into moult. You can collect feathers instead of eggs. :D