nelda, I'm in Texas. I couldn't tell you what the range is on chicken snakes. All I know is we have a lot of them around here! I, too, have a huge aversion to snakes. My usual method of "disposal" is my 410 shotgun, but that wasn't really a good option inside the stone hen house. Since I certainly wasn't going INTO the house with the snake, he had to wait on my husband to get home to do the ceremonial chopping. (Gave him an opportunity to finish his nap.) msjay, I don't know about your coop, but I'm assuming they just slither right in the door of mine! I'm still not finding nearly as many eggs as I should be getting this time of year. And I check the nests regularly now - like every time I walk anywhere near there. I'm mystified. So glad to hear your crow found business elsewhere!

Hi Liljanjan, I have no experience with Mountain Bluebirds, but that is a very interesting story. I think a crow could make a meal out of bluebird babies but not sure about fledglings. So you are saying by hanging up a crow near the box that deterred them? I would like to invite you to share your story and join the bluebird nut cafe and we will provide you with all you need to know about these birds. It is way more active and you will get fast answers to your questions. Hope to see you there. -Tyler http://bluebirdnutcafe.yuku.com/

that is a nice site. Plenty of crafts for kids and those of us who are still kids at heart. I like that straw hat bird feeder for the back yard.

Hopefully he cut you some slack consider your very stressful situation. I can't imagine all that you have had to deal with. Best of luck for a very successful rebuild...you deserve it. *My brother's house burned down in December and he is still waiting to start construction. As with anyone, he lost so much including all his Viet Nam memorabilia (3 tours) but what made this tough guy cry was losing his kitty.