Eastern Tennessee Thread

[TNBarnQueen]

Good for you on the snake.....I've run into 3 eastern kings already this year. I usually only see 1 or 2 the entire year. I just take them over towards the woods behind the chicken run so they can take care of all the mice for me

Kings snakes are the champs as eating posionous snakes. One snake I really love is the hognose snake. Many times it is mistaken for a copperhead cause their markings can be a bit similar. When you run up on one first they will raise up and spread their head to make themselves look vicious...it that does not work they will roll over and blow themselves up like they are dead. They dine only on frogs and are rear fanged...meaning they CANNOT bite. Their fangs are in the back of their mouth kinda like where out wisdom teeth are. I use to catch one every year and keep it as a pet during the summer and release it that fall. They name hognose is because the end of their nose turns up. They get maybe average a foot long maybe a little more. SO...don't kill these babies!!

 

[librarychicken]

Since we had to re-home our rooster (apparently he's happy as a clam & they are going to breed him) our hen has been very noisy. I am wondering if she is lonely? I am getting an orp from tnchicken in a few wks but if anybody close to Knox has a laying hen that needs a new home let me know!

 

[grawg]

grawg, I think if I read correctly that it's not going to be the size of the pond to worry about, it's how much money you can afford on a filtered pump!

Hopefully this isn't one of those projects that my husband gets tired of and only finishes half of it. Will keep everyone posted once I get more done.

Haha so true. The filter is quite the problem. I built a small aquaponics system this year and got a lot of good ideas for the filter. I'm pretty sure I could keep the solids and feathers away from the pump, which would wreck it in a hurry. So now it comes down to design and budget and location and priorities... maybe I'll get it done in 5 or 10 years?

@tnbarnqueen I kept hognose snakes during the summer as well! I even had one that I caught two summers in a row. Unfortunately, someone thought it needed a bath and forgot about it in a 5 gallon bucket. It was a sad day in junior herpetology land.

 

[TNBEARCHICK]

Which breeds would you recommend? After buying a few low quality chickens and "straight run" that were all roos (4 week old dominiques) when I started a year ago, I tend not to believe everything sellers tell me, lol.

I've been watching CL for two weeks, haven't seen anything yet winthin my price/driving range. Or the ads seem really fishy. I have a place to keep it out of sight until her b-day, so I have time to find the right one.

Thank you so much for the advice!!

I highly recommend Black Australorps. They have proven themselves to be the best egg layer and great meat bird (although we have not had any culled) We have one rooster and 7 hens and we get between 4-8 eggs per day from them (yes obviously we have an overachiever in the group) even in the winter they lay just the same. All of the Autralorps we have are very healthy and cold hearty.

 

[cybercat]

Kings snakes are the champs as eating posionous snakes. One snake I really love is the hognose snake. Many times it is mistaken for a copperhead cause their markings can be a bit similar. When you run up on one first they will raise up and spread their head to make themselves look vicious...it that does not work they will roll over and blow themselves up like they are dead. They dine only on frogs and are rear fanged...meaning they CANNOT bite. Their fangs are in the back of their mouth kinda like where out wisdom teeth are. I use to catch one every year and keep it as a pet during the summer and release it that fall. They name hognose is because the end of their nose turns up. They get maybe average a foot long maybe a little more. SO...don't kill these babies!!

I would love to see some kingsnakes here. But alas it is just corns and black rats. Wish I got a video of our dog chasing a black rat the other week. It was so funny. Looked like they were dancing.

 

[stanglover2001]

My friend is interested in re-homing some Langshans, it's a quad. 1 Blue rooster 11 months, 1 black hen 12 months, 1 blue hen 2 years, and another blue hen 3 years. They're pretty friendly, but the rooster is a butt and nothing like her old one. If anyone is interested please let me know, also if you get the quad and dislike the rooster I'll have plenty to sale soon, blues and splashes!

 

[TNBarnQueen]

I would love to see some kingsnakes here. But alas it is just corns and black rats. Wish I got a video of our dog chasing a black rat the other week. It was so funny. Looked like they were dancing.

We have lived here surrounded by fields and woods and "knock on wood" I have never seen a poisonous snake in 22 years. I have released around 8 kingsnakes so...hopefully they are doing their job!!

You should have seen my DH chasing a snake all over the yard on the lawnmower. He is terrified of snakes and I have not idea how he thought he could run over one. He has taken very well to country life but the city boy comes out in him every now and then.

 

[bairo]

Yep.. I like the Kings more that those big black rat snakes. I've been bit by a rat snake and they are fairly aggressive. The Kings not so much but they will scare the you know what out of you when they vibrate that tail. It's funny when you realize they imitate rattlers when they get scared. That last one was a juvenile about a foot long and cracked me up trying to act tough vibrating his tail.

 

[grawg]

I think we need a picture to go with all this talk about snakes

This is a beautiful black racer that has been on our property for the last few years. It is at least 4' long and I generally find it in the same area every year.

 

[stanglover2001]

I think we need a picture to go with all this talk about snakes

This is a beautiful black racer that has been on our property for the last few years. It is at least 4' long and I generally find it in the same area every year.

That's the kind of snake I saved!!! Mine was probably 3' long though, he was cut up bad from the netting, hope he makes it.. I found out later why he was where he was, I had a field mouse living under the wood stack, the snake was after it when it got tangled up.