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!

I planted Alabama #1 and no amount of Gris gris,mojo,hoodo or juju saved them from their 2 defeats

Actually, I don't think they are trying to raise the water level. Years ago I worked at a pet shop that had a crow (legally). He would dip EVERY piece of food in his water, even wet cat food. I am not sure why, perhaps they are washing it? I think raccoons have been known to do the same. Crows are extremely intelligent-he even spoke a few words. That said, I cannot stand them-they are loud, messy, aggressive and will eat garter snakes which I much prefer in my gardens over crows! They also like shiny objects and will steal them.

Crows aren't friendly or neighborly. They look out for each other but that's where it ends. They routinely steal nestlings and fledglings of small songbirds and feed them to their young. If you care about songbirds in your garden, I wouldn't encourage crows. They do serve a purpose of scaring away hawks but usually they only bother larger hawks like red tails, not smaller ones like coopers or sharp shins. It's the smaller ones that take the songbirds. They will try to eat the food in your garden - they will eat just about anything.