Chicken/egg question

[Mountain trapper]

Records show Rattlesnakes to have the most deadly venom and Copperheads to bite the most people…by far.

I'd like to learn more about rattlesnakes and figure out why we have so many around our house. I've found them inside the barn, under the steps, on the steps, under buildings, in wood piles, in the wife's Jeep, in the garden, in the yard, our pathways, by the gates, and pretty much everywhere. They've struck at the kids and they've struck at me on the 4 wheeler. They are at their worst when sheding. They can't see very well, they don't rattle and they get very cranky. A few years ago I stepped on a rattler while barefoot. That was a strange feeling.

 

[Oddcaliber]

A 410 with #8 shot does wonders on any snake.

 

[Amish Heart]

I lost a hen to the heat yesterday. We're hoping to get down to the high 80's on Saturday, though. New chicks hatching today. Three so far. Have 9 baby slate turkeys in the milkhouse, and 8 baby african geese. Hoping the one remaining Toulouse goose (hen) will like the babies. The rest of the Toulouse were killed in a raccoon attack.

 

[GeorgiaPeachie]

I'd like to learn more about rattlesnakes and figure out why we have so many around our house. I've found them inside the barn, under the steps, on the steps, under buildings, in wood piles, in the wife's Jeep, in the garden, in the yard, our pathways, by the gates, and pretty much everywhere. They've struck at the kids and they've struck at me on the 4 wheeler. They are at their worst when sheding. They can't see very well, they don't rattle and they get very cranky. A few years ago I stepped on a rattler while barefoot. That was a strange feeling.

My guess would be that you have so many because you don’t have enough predators eating them. We have black snakes that keep our numbers small. Do you have Black Snakes?

 

[Amish Heart]

Black snakes eat rattlesnakes? We have black rat snakes. They creep me out.
Baby number 5 just hatched.

 

[Cindyd]

We have rattlers n pigmy rattlers and cotton mouths, I don't recall seeing any rattlers on our property (but several yrs ago our Bassett hound got bitten by a pigmy rattler and died (so the vet said was likely a pigmy). Rarely seen a cotton mouth even around our pond..but plenty of black snakes/Garden/king-tree snakes.

 

[EastenerWesterner]

Rattlers have 3 types of venom Neurotoxic, Hemotoxic and Cytotoxide. You need the right anti venom. You can have 2 different venoms within an hour of each other. No, I am not smart, my wife is.

First year here, I cleared 150 ft from around the house. I got rid of the vermin problem and the rattlers. 6 a year to 1 or 2. It affected the good snakes too. Haven’t seen a king snake in 5 years.

Darn autocorrect keeps changing the toxics

 

[Proud Prepper]

My guess would be that you have so many because you don’t have enough predators eating them. We have black snakes that keep our numbers small. Do you have Black Snakes?

Need King snake's

 

[poltiregist]

The Game and Fish Commission in Mississippi has a rattlesnake infestation in an area that I used to work in , walking the terrain in a grid pattern cruising timber . There they released " Indigo snakes " . They get huge and like to eat rattlesnakes . I never did see one of those released Indigo snakes though but did see those rattlesnakes . I am not sure who ate who .

 

[Mountain trapper]

My guess would be that you have so many because you don’t have enough predators eating them. We have black snakes that keep our numbers small. Do you have Black Snakes?

No black snakes around here. We do have gopher snakes, that look very much like a rattler. I heard that they will eat a rattlesnake. We have really creepy looking brown snake here that I heard was poisonous, but they don't usually bite.
I know that snakes are attracted to rodents, but we keep the area clean and I am constantly trapping, shooting and poisoning rodents. 99% of the rattlers that I've killed here were within a 100 yard radius of the house.

 

[GeorgiaPeachie]

There are a few different types of Black Snakes I believe. Ours are Black Racers. Owls and Hawks kill rattlers too. It is a rare day I don’t see a hawk on our property. We have an owl too. I think the water draws them.

 

[Cindyd]

Yes, and I have had a black racer come at me. We have owl too.

My new chicken "free range" space got finished last weekend...the girls seem to be enjoying it. They did a good job putting sturdy, tight netting across the top to keep hawks at bay.

 

[EastenerWesterner]

+1 on Hawks getting them. I see a snake carrying quite often. This one had a bad landing on the electric fence

 

[poltiregist]

Yes, and I have had a black racer come at me. We have owl too.

My new chicken "free range" space got finished last weekend...the girls seem to be enjoying it. They did a good job putting sturdy, tight netting across the top to keep hawks at bay.

Another prepper project finished before the apocalypse .

 

[Mountain trapper]

I started putting up the wire around the new chicken run the other day. I need 2 more rolls, 200 feet, of wire and put in a few more posts to finish. I need to keep a couple places open in the fence for the cement truck to make it up to where the new solar mount is going. The cement is 2 weeks out for delivery.

 

[Amish Heart]

I need to put up chicken wire over the chain link in my goose run before I put the young ones in. A project for sure. I have the chain link and doors set up to the new turkey area, it's 30 feet by 10 feet but have not put the top on or the bottom ground wire. That's another project. Hoping for some help, but probably I should just get my butt in gear.

 

[Mountain trapper]

Two days ago we took the new ducks out to the chicken run. The wife caught them in a big fish net and carried them to the run. We have two adult male ducks already and all of the new ducks are female. They're all getting along fine. The ducks are all Indian runners.

 

[Cindyd]

Speaking of chickens, there lots of poo to walk through. I got tired of having to clean chicken poo out of bottom of my shoes! Don't usually take time to change shoes so these work great...I ordered 500..you just pull them apart, plop them over your shoes ...pop them off in garbage n done. Bottom of shoes, clean as a whistle!

 

[Cindyd]

Sorry, I hit post before attaching pics...

 

[user 7704]

I have Crocs at the doors for outside. I have Telics for inside.

 

[GeorgiaPeachie]

Personally, I have a pair of shoes for only the chicken house and run. Another pair for garden and greenhouse. No cleaning shoes for me. The stinky ones stay on the porch in a deck box with our rubber boots. It works for us well.

 

[DrHenley]

Back when the "cabin" at BOL1 was a doublewide trailer with a covered deck porch, and the mud started at the bottom of the stairs, we left mud slippers on the porch for when we needed to walk around outside temporarily. They were like Crocs with no ventilation holes.

 

[Survivor_316]

I wear my muck boots out there but I think we're switching to sand in the house.

*the hen house, not our house! Lol

 

[user 7704]

I wear my muck boots out there but I think we're switching to sand in the house.

*the hen house, not our house! Lol

I have sand in the run and house, but I put some straw in the run to keep them from getting bored when I had to keep them contained due to predators. I also use pine shavings in nests and it get scattered on floor. Sand is heavy on the floors.

I'm going to rake it and put on garden later.

 

[Survivor_316]

I have sand in the run and house, but I put some straw in the run to keep them from getting bored when I had to keep them contained due to predators. I also use pine shavings in nests and it get scattered on floor. Sand is heavy on the floors.

I'm going to rake it and put on garden later.

Do you like using it?
I do wonder if it will be too heavy for our floor.

 

[user 7704]

Do you like using it?
I do wonder if it will be too heavy for our floor.

I took lots of the sand out because of the weight and have more shavings now

I love the sand in the run. It is about 6" or more and the poop washes away in the rain

 

[Survivor_316]

I took lots of the sand out because of the weight and have more shavings now

I love the sand in the run. It is about 6" or more and the poop washes away in the rain

That makes sense. Thanks!

 

[Cindyd]

Had to put a hen down today, she hurt her foot it appeared, the other day but was getting around pretty good last few days. Thought she'd be ok. Today she got trapped somehow and the other hens were pecking her head bad. Larry found her and got my son to get her out and off with her head. I swear, those hens are mean as hell when one gets sick or ill. I guess it's nature (brutal!).

 

[user 7704]

I take a chair into the run and just sit there and the young ones hop up and get rubs. Tonight, one was on my shoulder trying to peck my pony tail. I turned around and she actually pecked my eye. I immediately thought of The Birds movie.

 

[Mountain trapper]

I take a chair into the run and just sit there and the young ones hop up and get rubs. Tonight, one was on my shoulder trying to peck my pony tail. I turned around and she actually pecked my eye. I immediately thought of The Birds movie.

My silly wife does the same thing. She'll sit in the meat chicken coop with the meat chicks, then she'll sit on the deck at the chicken house too. A couple days ago we put all of the new chick's in with the older hens. They all get along fine.