Arizona Chickens

[MrsFitzDarcy]

Are you withholding feed for at least 24 hours before giving them the dose? That is supposed to help. Then don't feed them for at least 3 hours after. I think I finally got rid of the tapeworms here with Zimectrin Gold. They got a big dose, a big pea sized dose. One tube only treated about 5-6 birds, that's how much I used.

Glad you saw the rattlesnake. We had one coiled up behind a bucket in the poultry house hallway a few days ago. I moved it out to a prickly pear patch a little bit away. They get to stay in the yard but they are not allowed in pens or the hallway

You are brave a) because you handle it live, and b) that you let it stay near by.

 

[desertmarcy]

You are brave a) because you handle it live, and b) that you let it stay near by.

With 30+ years experience keeping snakes in captivity, including rattlesnakes, copperheads, gaboon vipers, even kept a cobra for a while, I am quite comfortable around them and hope they will eat many mice and packrats on my property!

 

[Sill]

One of the girls sun bathing today. Enjoying our brief spring, but I'm always amazed when it's over 110 degrees and they still insist on sun bathing!

 

[DesertChic]

With 30+ years experience keeping snakes in captivity, including rattlesnakes, copperheads, gaboon vipers, even kept a cobra for a while, I am quite comfortable around them and hope they will eat many mice and packrats on my property!

I've always appreciated snakes, but your post leaves me aghast and virtually speechless. Something tells me you've led a much more interesting life than I have.

 

[MrsFitzDarcy]

With 30+ years experience keeping snakes in captivity, including rattlesnakes, copperheads, gaboon vipers, even kept a cobra for a while, I am quite comfortable around them and hope they will eat many mice and packrats on my property!

Oh, my!

Did you have training as a biologist or work in a zoo or something? I can't imagine ever daring to handle a venomous snake, never mind a huge one like a cobra. Just looked up a gaboon viper. That coloring is something.

 

[MrsFitzDarcy]

I will probably be taking a week's vacation in late June or early July and am going to be looking for a house/chicken sitter. I have a housemate, but he is not reliable enough for the girls. You could stay at the house or stop by. Anyone interested? (I have no idea what to pay.)
Northwest Tucson (near the intersection of Oracle and Magee)

@AZChiknGoddess ?

 

[lacymorgan]

I will probably be taking a week's vacation in late June or early July and am going to be looking for a house/chicken sitter. I have a housemate, but he is not reliable enough for the girls. You could stay at the house or stop by. Anyone interested? (I have no idea what to pay.)
@AZChiknGoddess ?

put your town in here so everyone knows how far it would be to travel to you

 

[cyborg]

I've always appreciated snakes, but your post leaves me aghast and virtually speechless. Something tells me you've led a much more interesting life than I have. 

Most snakes won't bother you if you don't bother them (or step on them). That being said, there are a few notable exceptions, but not any likely to be encountered in the U.S.

 

[Beckyhsinglsc]

I will probably be taking a week's vacation in late June or early July and am going to be looking for a house/chicken sitter. I have a housemate, but he is not reliable enough for the girls. You could stay at the house or stop by. Anyone interested? (I have no idea what to pay.)
Northwest Tucson (near the intersection of Oracle and Magee)

@AZChiknGoddess ?

You could check with your local 4-H club for a responsible teen.

 

[desertmarcy]

Oh, my!

Did you have training as a biologist or work in a zoo or something? I can't imagine ever daring to handle a venomous snake, never mind a huge one like a cobra. Just looked up a gaboon viper. That coloring is something.

No, I was self taught plus tips from other snake keepers. One in particular, who ran his own business extracting venom, dehydrating it, and selling it for research, gave me and my partner a quick lesson in how to handle a cobra. He was quite a character. I'll never forget the stories he told us, especially about trying to contain a black mamba (some say the most dangerous snake in the world, considering size, venom potency, speed, and temperament) that was loose in the hallway and kept chasing THEM. Keeping poultry is tame by comparison but a lot safer plus they are better to eat

Yes, gaboon vipers are beautiful. One of my favorites, them and rhinoceros vipers. The gaboons are pretty laid back but very long fangs and potent venom that attacks both the blood system and the nervous system. Most snake venoms do one or the other. If you get bit and don't have the correct antivenom IMMEDIATELY available, you can kiss your --- goodbye.