Ack!

I was just in the Chick-bit house, battening down the hatches in preparation for "severe thunderstorms with damaging hail" that are forecast for this evening.  I spied this little guy out there.

You can see how tiny he is - maybe 10 inches long.

 

Before I could catch him, he slithered through the chicken wire and burrowed under the litter in there.  I dug around with a stick for a bit, but couldn't find him.

He is a Ringneck snake, and while Wikipedia states that they are "slightly venomous", it appears that they rarely bite, and the saliva contains a toxin that can cause a superficial skin reaction.

He doesn't appear to be any danger to my pullets, hens, their eggs, or J's rabbit.  I still don't like the idea of him burrowing in there...out of sight!