Farm Life

Because of snakes i used 1/2 x 1/2 mesh hardware cloth not to mention the chicken wire dont last as long as it used to.
 
When I was a kid we had a huge rat snake about 8 ft long that would raid the hen house and steal eggs. He never harmed the chickens or chicks and they seemed to tolerate him being around. On one occasion I was scared out of my wits when I heard a racket and looked into the chicken house and saw that a rat snake was fighting a rattlesnake. They were really going at it and the rat snake finally bit the rattler and in a flash had him coiled up and after a long while had killed him. Then he slithered off to enjoy a scrambled egg dinner. We let him hang around because he was also a good rat and mouse killer as well.
 
I built this chicken pen 16 yrs. ago and got the better chicken wire. The snakes we have here are Diamondback rattlers, Prairie rattlers and Bull snakes (we called this one a chicken snake & rat snake growing up). These prefer to eat eggs and when we raise late chicks they'll go after those as well. Late chicks; are those
sold late in the Spring at Tractor S. or feed stores. Managers will order chicks based on projected sales from previous years. Should
these not sell quickly they'll reduce the price, to move them out the door. We may like the deal or may have lost a few during cold
snaps in early Spring. So, we find ourselves needing a few more. The warmer days will boost our confidence toward survival rates.
So, we add some. Then a snake will start visiting. My wife has reached in a laying box to discover a snake has arrived first and is
helping his self to our labor and outlay. The Bull snakes we'll remove to a far away area. They can eat 2-3 eggs a day or the same
amount of chicks. 2 of our good dogs have been bit by rattlers and my wife has been struck at from a rattler. I had a close call from a rattler that struck my hand as I reached for some nails while building our barn. His fangs hung in the tip of my glove and I slung him off. Too close! So, we really watch.
I've been carrying the red micarta 110 for 2 days now and really like it. It goes in my back pocket beside my handkerchief. I don't notice it's there. It excels at digging out splinters as I get those everyday. Cleaning under my finger nails. It shaved some hair around some goats horns before disbudding. It trimmed a few hooves. I considered using it today to castrate one male that needs it but since flies are out I think I'll use a rubber band. Should I wait until September when we usually have our first frost he'll be hard for one person to handle. Especially with a knife in one hand. More later, DM
 
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Sounds like you need a mongoose although mongeese might like eggs. Your new Aluminum 110 looks good with the red scales. Buck made some extra scales for their BCCI 30th Anniversary 110. Apparently the club didn’t sell all of the knives or the scales. Knives and scales were being sold at the Blade Show. Three of the six variations of scales were offered separately. The grippiest appear to be the charcoal G-10 variety. I think the spare scales ran about $40/pair.
 
Thanks tiguy. I have several colors of micarta and a green & black G-10. I think I'll make a pair with G-10. DM
 
sassafrassdogs3 said:
I would think they'd kill the full grown chickens, eat the chicks and eggs....
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After discussing this more with my wife, -- we cannot recall losing a full grown chicken to a snake. They run and peck and get away. However, when our kids were still in school at home and showing animals they had show rabbits. Each had it's own cage and we had a fenced in exercise area for them to run around in. They would allow them a little time in the exercise yard each afternoon. These were registered breeds holding papers and were shown in large shows under breeding requirements. We lost a rabbit each year to rattlers. Some way they found a way into the exercise yard. 4 in all which amounted to around 600$. DM
 
I dont mind non poisonous snake but i got no use for poisonous ones and will end everyone i cross, because next time someone or i may not be lucky enough to see it first. They dont eat anything a nonvenomous snake wont so if they went extinct it wouldnt hurt the ecology a bit.
 
No snakes where I live in Oregon that we have to worry about except for the gardner snakes which are completely harmless.
I used to raise chickens, pigs, cows, and more but have not over the last couple years. I need to rebuild part of my barn as well as rebuild about a half mile of fencing so until than raising animals is
on hold. Lots of other farm type work going on though. I have 2 fields that we bale into hay which we sell and some woods which I have about a half mile of trails through that I keep up.
The trails are wide enough that you can drive on them but they are mostly just for taking walks on. Nice to see the deer, quail, squirrels etc.

Hauling a load of limbs etc out to the burn pile.
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I mow quite a big area so the clippings pile gets fairly big.
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Upper field waiting to be bailed in a couple days.
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Lower field waiting to be bailed in a couple days.
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Some of the trails I maintain out in the woods.
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Next project. I just mixed up 25 gallons of 50/50 mix of crossbow and roundup which I will be spraying blackberry bushes around my fenceline etc. Blackberries grow like crazy around here.
I spray it out of a 25 gallon tank that goes on my tractor.
 
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glad I ran across this thread ... I enjoy seeing the progress of things ...

I haven't read ever post yet ... but wondered if since you have snakes if you have ever tried owl figures or hawks and a call box ... even the owl positioned in view if you step out and use an owl call from time to time ...

it won't completely rid you of all the snakes but they will deter many from bothering your chickens ... better yet if you can draw real owls in but that doesn't always work ...

and it can give you a jump in blood pressure reaching in to gather eggs and find a snake ... we learned to use a small snake hook or if not at least a stick to tap on the hutches and try to be sure we weren't sticking our hand out for some fangs to sink into ...

the bull snakes are just annoying and a lil pain if bitten ... but if you throw rattlers in the mix that changes the whole game ...
 
I had never thought of making a thread on my daily life ... but I do enjoy reading the few I've found now ...

I usually raise a few bottle calves ... one to butcher and a couple to sell and break even and fill the freezer full of meat ... keep a few chickens around and hunt deer turkey pheasant quail even rabbits and squirrels ... and most years I go in half with a neighbor for a hog and split it ...

was how I was raised it seems like I'm not doing anything the years I've skipped that stuff ... it's pretty satisfying to see the hard work pay off :thumbsup:
 
I don't have snakes but I do have owls lIving and nesting every year in my barn. In the above picture with my barn in it you can see the white streaks on the upper area from the owls making a mess as they leave the barn. The upper level in the barn where the owls are is a huge mess because of them. I soon will be chasing them out of the barn and blocking anywhere they can get in so I can get it cleaned up.
It is cool though to see and hear the owls though.
 
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