An "old friend" came back by for a "visit" ~ pics~

[cwc362]

Quote:
okay I know you said don't ask about the freezer- But I just have to - you know!! What's up with the freezer- LOL

 

[luvmychicknkids]

OH MY!!!!! Those pics are amazing!!! I would give almost anything to have the opportunity to get that close and personal with those beauties. However, with three small children I am really glad I have never seen a venomous snake in my yard....just a ton of garter snakes and one HUGE black rat snake. I love them all!!!

 

[Beauregard]

I used to kill snakes but i dont anymore, they're not as many as there used to be, and I think they serve a purpose so if they don't bother me I won't bother them.

 

[crait]

That's huge!

Do they eat chickens?

 

[lil'chickies]

I personally was bit by a rattlesnake when I was 9. Several days in the hospital and I was fine. Another boy was bit the same day at the other hospital around here, he was 7 and lost his leg.

Now that I am raising my kids on the same ranch I was bit on, we don't take any chances. My dog Icon already knows what a rattler is and will keep it occupied until we get the shotgun. We also have cats running around out here. I will do what it takes to protect my boys from the same horror I went through.

If I could afford it, we would have a foot thick, 6 foot high brick wall built around here. That's just not realistic. So we shoot 'em, run them over, throw rocks at them, chop 'em up with whatever tool is handy.

My hubby just shot 4 the other day. Not babies either, big ones. Which is surprising since the babies usually come out first. They don't know winter may not be completely over yet. I don't know since we didn't get much of a winter.

I don't hold it against anyone who enjoys having them around, but for us, we have zero tolerance for them.

 

[Dr.Doorlock]

I still find it hard to believe that a friend of mine used to grab them by the tail and swing them around so the centripital force kept them controled. Then he would see how far into the lake they would fly when he let them go.

Maybe that's why they are so mean.

 

[FrChuckW]

Quote:
Steve, sorry to say but we do have rattler's in Michigan, and Black Racer Snakes, Corn Snakes and Garter Snakes. I can remember as a kid catching garter snakes. And as long as the snake is non-poisonous, I'll let it be. But as far as a poisonous snake goes, sorry they are dead. I won't risk being bitten by one of them and getting sick or dieing, or having one of them hurt one of my kids or critters.

 

[cwc362]

I learned a long time ago, the hard way, not to kill all the chicken snakes . But we have a tendency here to get all the baby copperheads that come from the surrounding swamps in our yard . I almost got bit last year by one while I was pulling grass around the flowerbed. Then My neighbor almost got struck right by his house too. He bent down to pick something up in the yard. We never see any adults but we get the babies though- I don't know if they travel away from the actual swamp when they hatch or not. I trained myself not to kill the chicken snakes. We used to kill any snakes we ran across and then the rats starting taking over in the barns and sheds. When one finally came back - He became kind of tame. He hung around one of the poles in the shed and we worked all around him and he didn't bother us. But he sure kept the rats away!!

Wayne
n
Tennessee

BTW , I think Chicken snakes are really called rat snakes- Chicken snakes are what we call them in the south. Around here anyway

 

[damselfish]

Just wanted to say to the OP, beautiful pics, and you are way braver than I am. I don't have snake phobia, but ones that big...that would freak me out. Good for you for being able to coexist with them and keep your animals safe at the same time.

 

[ursusarctosana]

Quote:
No sir!

The most venomous snake in the US is the Coral Snake.

Poisonous vs Venomous is pretty much my biggest pet peeve. Snakes are venomous, not poisonous.

Beautiful snake and awesome photos, bayou! I'd love to find some snakes in my yard, venomous or not!

The way to tell if it's a coral snake: Yellow and black FRIEND OF JACK; red and yellow KILL A FELLOW.