Does this sound like a snake??

[oldhenlikesdogs]

Yeah lol it just about gave me nightmares. I was in that shed in flip flops! Unfortunately raccoons had chewed into the shed and had taken the lid off that box among destroying other things that's why I was in there cleaning up. I wanted to let the DNR know I saw it but I had no proof and my own family didn't believe me that it had actually been a rattle snake. Only I had seen it although a now ex boyfriend of mine had been in the shed with me. He heard it but didn't see it.



Exactly snakes are very cool creatures spiders are the stuff of nightmares.... LoL no seriously I've woken up with a wolf spider in my bed talk about terrifying! I have pretty crazy reactions to mosquito bites and we'll lots of things I have very sensitive skin but I'm not sure if I have a sensitivity to spider bites. Scorpions are better than spiders as far as I'm concerned though I wouldn't hold one because of the stinger. Oh I hate fire ants. In our old house the push mower always died in the same spot in the yard(right on top of a fire ant colony). Yes in Wisconsin, anyone who says they don't exist here is nuts!

We also had European garden spiders in that yard! Ew ew ew ew ew ew!!!!! Ahhhhhhh!!!! That's the stuff of nightmares. By the time we moved out we had gone from only finding two European garden spiders to over 20 all over the bushes out front! No thanks! Those things were nuts they would watch you and you could see them watch you. When trimming the trees they looked like they were stalking and going to attack you. Sometimes even walking forward. Idk they're supposedly harmless. When we first found them they were also not supposed to be in in the U.S. let alone Wisconsin.



Yes, unfortunately. Not as much in certain places but in the more rural areas definitely. My Grandma lives down here too on a farm with about 12+ acres of woods and ticks are a problem there. I've been trying to convince Grandma and my mom who cares for her to turn a flock of guineas loose. My Grandma had a sheltie that got Lyme's. Unfortunately it went untreated and undiagnosed for months and effected her brain. It completely changed her personality.

After I get DH2B and moved in with him we had a few ticks. Then we got chickens and saw almost no ticks.

If there are high numbers of ticks they can get on a dog even with preventative. Anyway the first year we had chickens my sheltie got one tick. Just one. It gave her Lyme's disease. It was not a deer tick I'm positive. It looked like a plain old wood/dog tick. My vet told me that it had to bea deer tick. She only had one tick and it gave her the bullseye marking like people usually get. It's uncommon for a dog to get the rings. I took the tick off immediately it wasn't on long I could tell. It was long enough. She exhibited symptoms shortly after.

Note: I didn't know bullseye markings around the bite was a sign of Lyme's disease because there were only two small rings around it I thought it was just irritated. It wasn't. When she started exhibiting signs of pain and lameness within a couple days I googled and I knew before I took her to the vet. We caught it so quickly that the test barely showed positive. I was grateful for that. It didn't change her personality. She was treated and has had to be treated maybe 1-3 more times since then. She now gets the vaccine to keep it from flaring up but nothing can change that one little tick.

I will also give you that Velveeta makes good grilled cheese but it's still not "cheese". LOL

Idk what Wisconsin is going to do about the tick situation. Perhaps a massive guinea release would work. Idk. They're possibly the most useless creature on the planet. They don't break down waste or keep any other animal number in check it doesn't seem like there is much that eats them. Ugh ticks.

They're saying this year is going to be a bad year. We've already seen one this year at our house(just on a concrete wall DH2B leaned on) we have approximately 100 chickens and 4 guineas. How was that thing here!?

The other one out at my Grandma's where it may or may not have been picked up in the middle of the yard while we pruned a tiny maple tree..


Last year all year here we only saw one tick in the garden which the chickens were locked out of. We'll see if we see more this year.

Random factoid: we have never seen a tick on our Great Dane and she runs around all over. Idk if her coat is just too short and coarse or what. Idk if this is something that common for Danes or not.

I have a couple of dogs with Lymes, they require antibiotics during flare ups, caught early and treated aggressively it can be controlled, left too long it can be deadly, and cause chronic arthritis. 3 family members have had Lymes that I know of. My vet says he sees Lyme cases daily. It got really bad right in this area.

I have about 100 chickens patrolling my yard and some muscovy. We hardly ever see ticks now. Guineas are obnoxious.

Short coated dogs are probably harder to get a hold of by a tick. I haven't really noticed a difference between coat types and ticks.

Velveeta is cheese. It will survive a nuclear explosion along with the cockroaches.

 

[Shanna-stephens]

I have a couple of dogs with Lymes, they require antibiotics during flare ups, caught early and treated aggressively it can be controlled, left too long it can be deadly, and cause chronic arthritis. 3 family members have had Lymes that I know of. My vet says he sees Lyme cases daily. It got really bad right in this area.

I have about 100 chickens patrolling my yard and some muscovy. We hardly ever see ticks now. Guineas are obnoxious.

Short coated dogs are probably harder to get a hold of by a tick. I haven't really noticed a difference between coat types and ticks.

Velveeta is cheese. It will survive a nuclear explosion along with the cockroaches.

Totally agree that guineas are obnoxious... I was going to ask if they really are Better for tick. I MIGHT consider a few if they ate more ticks.

 

[chickendreams24]

I have a couple of dogs with Lymes, they require antibiotics during flare ups, caught early and treated aggressively it can be controlled, left too long it can be deadly, and cause chronic arthritis. 3 family members have had Lymes that I know of. My vet says he sees Lyme cases daily. It got really bad right in this area.

I have about 100 chickens patrolling my yard and some muscovy. We hardly ever see ticks now. Guineas are obnoxious.

Short coated dogs are probably harder to get a hold of by a tick. I haven't really noticed a difference between coat types and ticks.

Velveeta is cheese. It will survive a nuclear explosion along with the cockroaches.

Yeah I know some people with Lyme's too. I've read that left too long it can affect their brain as far as with dogs idk about people.

I never asked my vet how often they see Lyme's but I know the last several times I've been there there have been dogs in with it. It's insane how prevalent it has become. Even in nearby towns. It isn't even all rural.


Yes the chickens definitely help with the ticks- I feel like some of the bantams and especially OEGB do great at foraging and getting ticks!
Although nearly all of our chickens are great foragers. We don't see them like we used to and even less since we added the guineas a couple years ago. (They were adopted from an owner the's boyfriend was going to shoot him. They weren't used to him so they treated him like a predator and screamed bloody murder. LOL)

We have one pine tree on our property which ticks love but the chickens and especially guineas have done a great job stirring up the needles below it and eating the vegetation and it seems the ticks too. So I would say guineas can be obnoxious and can be rather wild(ours are still a pain to touch/catch but we didn't raise them- in fact they were allowed to be essentially wild before we got them as they used to roost in pine trees in their previous home but now roost in our coop with our chickens.) I don't really mind their calls and they have alerted the chickens to predators a few times so I'm grateful for that. The only time they get really obnoxious is if we are sawing or hammering outside but then so do the chickens because it's spooky! LOL

Totally agree that guineas are obnoxious... I was going to ask if they really are Better for tick. I MIGHT consider a few if they ate more ticks.

I think they seem to have improved our tick problems like I said we've only seen one a year for several years now since we got chickens and then guineas. The real test is going to be if I see any more this year.

I've heard ducks are good for slugs and ticks and we've been toying with getting some for a couple years now but I think DH2B is worried about the mess and we don't have anywhere separate to put them. Do you guys kepk your ducks and chickens together (for those that have ducks)?

Guineas are funny creatures that have grown on me I admit and I enjoy their antics. They're such strange things like little feathered armadillos with their rounded backs. LOL

 

[OzarkEgghead]

I'm in extreme Southcentral MO so we have a lot of the same predators you have in NW Ark. Are you sure it's not an Armadillo making off with the eggs? I've seen that happen here....although they seem to take them only a short distance from the nest before breaking a hole in the shell & eating the contents.

If it's not another snake that you're dealing with, our prime nighttime suspects for eggs that are completely missing are foxes, coyotes or a free-ranging domesticated dog. As for daytime predators, I've seen crows find nests, swoop down & grab an egg & fly off with it. So, if you're looking for a definitive answer, I have to agree with the suggestion to put a game camera on the nest & catch the criminal in the act.

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

Yeah I know some people with Lyme's too. I've read that left too long it can affect their brain as far as with dogs idk about people.

I never asked my vet how often they see Lyme's but I know the last several times I've been there there have been dogs in with it. It's insane how prevalent it has become. Even in nearby towns. It isn't even all rural.


Yes the chickens definitely help with the ticks- I feel like some of the bantams and especially OEGB do great at foraging and getting ticks!
Although nearly all of our chickens are great foragers. We don't see them like we used to and even less since we added the guineas a couple years ago. (They were adopted from an owner the's boyfriend was going to shoot him. They weren't used to him so they treated him like a predator and screamed bloody murder. LOL)

We have one pine tree on our property which ticks love but the chickens and especially guineas have done a great job stirring up the needles below it and eating the vegetation and it seems the ticks too. So I would say guineas can be obnoxious and can be rather wild(ours are still a pain to touch/catch but we didn't raise them- in fact they were allowed to be essentially wild before we got them as they used to roost in pine trees in their previous home but now roost in our coop with our chickens.) I don't really mind their calls and they have alerted the chickens to predators a few times so I'm grateful for that. The only time they get really obnoxious is if we are sawing or hammering outside but then so do the chickens because it's spooky! LOL



I think they seem to have improved our tick problems like I said we've only seen one a year for several years now since we got chickens and then guineas. The real test is going to be if I see any more this year.

I've heard ducks are good for slugs and ticks and we've been toying with getting some for a couple years now but I think DH2B is worried about the mess and we don't have anywhere separate to put them. Do you guys kepk your ducks and chickens together (for those that have ducks)?

Guineas are funny creatures that have grown on me I admit and I enjoy their antics. They're such strange things like little feathered armadillos with their rounded backs. LOL

I only keep muscovy and they are great at patrolling the yard for bugs both day and night. They share my large shed with most of my chickens, as well as goats and donkeys. I personally prefer muscovy over mallard based breeds, especially for bug patrol. They also require less water for swimming, and don't quack.

 

[theresarana]

I don't think anything but a snake would eat wooden eggs, but you may have more than one type of predator. We had Raccoons breaking into our chickens coops. They killed 10 of our chickens before we finally got it totally safe for them. We had to move our chickens into our Horse Trailer. We can't let anything free range around here accept the Guineas and it scares me to death, but they are so unhappy in a pen. Raccoons have already got there eggs twice. We have trapped 6 so far. I am crazy about my Guineas I call them my Little Minnons because they are so entertaining!!!

 

[Shanna-stephens]

I don't think anything but a snake would eat wooden eggs, but you may have more than one type of predator. We had Raccoons breaking into our chickens coops. They killed 10 of our chickens before we finally got it totally safe for them. We had to move our chickens into our Horse Trailer. We can't let anything free range around here accept the Guineas and it scares me to death, but they are so unhappy in a pen. Raccoons have already got there eggs twice. We have trapped 6 so far. I am crazy about my Guineas I call them my Little Minnons because they are so entertaining!!!

Update!! My son found the wooden egg about 20 ft from the nest in the grass... it had teeth marks on it in several places... so maybe not a snake after all?? We've set the live trap. It's been late evenings when my husband gets home so we haven't put the camera up, but hopefully in the morning we will have something!

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

Update!! My son found the wooden egg about 20 ft from the nest in the grass... it had teeth marks on it in several places... so maybe not a snake after all?? We've set the live trap. It's been late evenings when my husband gets home so we haven't put the camera up, but hopefully in the morning we will have something!

I've been waiting to see what you are dealing with.

 

[Zinjifrah]

Update!! My son found the wooden egg about 20 ft from the nest in the grass... it had teeth marks on it in several places... so maybe not a snake after all?? We've set the live trap. It's been late evenings when my husband gets home so we haven't put the camera up, but hopefully in the morning we will have something!

Certainly not a snake! They don't gnaw, and if they used their teeth to help swallow, it would be in rows of very shallow divots. If it were a snake, you wouldn't have wanted to touch it - because it wouldn't just be the egg. It would swallow it, then when it couldn't compress around the shell, it would either die from the blockage or regurgitate it... and when a snake throws up, everything in its digestive tract goes with it, including all digestive flora. It's why regurgitation is so dangerous for them.