If you’ve ever gathered eggs from a chicken coup in Texas, chances are you exercise a little caution before reaching for the eggs. After all, you never know when you might find a snake coiled up and enjoying a meal. However, one Texan woman found something far more shocking than just a slithery egg thief in her parents’ chicken coop.
Sara Allison was in charge of caring for her parents’ chickens one evening in Hull, Texas, while her folks were ill and in the hospital. Inside the coop, she discovered the world’s stubbornest chicken sitting atop a big, curled-up snake. Allison’s photo of the discovery quickly went viral, stirring up quite a reaction online. The hen, named Bernadette, was either too frightened or perhaps just too darned stubborn to get up and move.
Photo: Facebook/Sara Allison to What snake is this? Southeast Texas
“Look at this dummy!” Allison posted in the Facebook group “What snake is this? Southeast Texas.” She went on to say, “Too stubborn to get up when a rat snake wants a meal lol.” Whether the hen was just frozen in fear or too plucky for her own good is up for debate. Though Bernadette certainly didn’t appear too worried about the snake resting under her, Allison certainly was. She was afraid that rather than being satisfied with the warmth of the chicken’s body heat, the snake would have Bernadette for supper.
Allison took to Facebook, seeking advice about how to get rid of the snake. “What do I do?” she asked. “I’m taking care of some stuff for my parents while they are sick and in the hospital. My brother hurt his back so he can’t climb up the stairs to see if it’s gone on its merry way tonight before he shuts the chickens up for the night.”
Allison got several responses to the question in the Facebook group, but thankfully, by the time she returned to deal with the situation, the snake had departed, leaving Bernadette to the business of laying eggs. “I guess it figured it should high tail it outta there since it got caught,” Allison posted. “I left it alone and it went on its way after it saw me. The chickens are unharmed.”
