Its venomous, aggressive, AND endangered...what do you do?

[McChooky]

2 ft Velvet tail.
He kept getting closer and closer. Within striking range.
Yesterday afternoon about 3, all my birds squawking and running from barn like they're lives were in danger. They gathered at the propane tank discussing it and looking at the barn.
We were on our way to town, I did not go to barn. I figured local kitty upset em. 2 hrs later, we're home, girls still by house.
7 o'clock I go to put them up, they follow me to barn then stop and start fussing.
2 fr velvet tail staring at me. I am between it and chickens. No protection nothing to defend myself except a 2 ft kids rake I use to clean coop.
I step back, it moves forward. Same thing again. He's within striking range.
What would YOU do?
I restrained him with kid rake called for help and relocated.
Just now killed a in bathroom.
Not my day.
Stay safe

Never seen a rattler in MY yard thank GOD but I can honestly say I wouldn't regret killing one either. Not for a second. I pray I never run across one because me or it is leaving here dead or alive.

 

[Matejka]

Never seen a rattler in MY yard thank GOD but I can honestly say I wouldn't regret killing one either. Not for a second. I pray I never run across one because me or it is leaving here dead or alive.

We don't see them often. This one scared me-simply because I wasn't prepared, had no defense, and he was not backing off. A baby rake is not a good defense. It's perfect for cleaning coop, but at 2 ft long, it's not good for fighting a snake

 

[Outta Here]

Remember that 4½' rattler I shot and tried to feed it's headless body to my chickens and told about on this post? Well I was walking to the coop and almost missed a tiny 6" baby rattler, well camouflaged in the dirt! I tried to give the alarm to my dog, but he never saw it until I had killed it and lifted it on a stick to show him.
That means the big one or some other one laid eggs here. Now I have to really watch out and try to find the nest and kill the rest of them
I easily killed this one with a thick yucca branch, something I would never, ever try with a full grown rattlesnake. I don't battle snakes with rakes or hoes, either--you have to get close enough that your legs are exposed to strikes, and it takes a lot of force to kill one. I had to chop 4 or 5 times with a hoe to behead the big one after it was dead. No, I shoot them at close but safe range with my "pocket shotgun" Taurus Judge or my Taurus Poly Public Defender with the 410 birdshot. Dead and flat immediately. The one time I couldn't have shot one safely, I squirted it in the face with long-shot wasp spray. It's less humane and takes them awhile to die, and they can crawl off. https://www.westernnebraskaobserver...s-now-carrying-wasp-spray-for-snakes/650.html

You have to zoom to find it in this picture....

Draw a diagonal from the dog shadow's nose to the upper left corner and it's right in the middle of the line.

 

[McChooky]

We don't see them often. This one scared me-simply because I wasn't prepared, had no defense, and he was not backing off. A baby rake is not a good defense. It's perfect for cleaning coop, but at 2 ft long, it's not good for fighting a snake

Had a friend once who owned coal mines and people were always breaking in his office and sheds stealing tools so he got some timber rattlers to protect his stuff. At night he'd turn them loose in his sheds and office and in the morning he'd catch them and put them back up. No one ever broke into his offices or buildings again after word got out.They were big around as my arm.

 

[Birdsonghill]

If it were a nonvenomous snake, I'd pick it up and throw it away. But for this one, I'd stick a box over it and bring it somewhere else. Was the scorpion venomous too?

When I was young and dumb, I used to capture poisonous snakes for removal(or to show off). I still capture and relocate bothersome non venomous snakes.(with caution, as some can still give you a nasty bite and serious infections) I have witnessed bad snake bites and received a copperhead bite when I was a boy, that thankfully , was not real bad, as evidently the snake did not inject much venom. The necrosis of tissue, the effects on your entire circulatory system and organs are often horrendous! That is of course when you don't die a miserable death! With treatment beginning for me within about 30 minutes of the bite, and little venom injected (according to the doctors), I still had a serious and slow to heal wound area and some illness for weeks! I assisted(mostly watched) with catching Water Moccosins with my oldest brother and his friend, for resale to a Serpentarium for anti venom production, way back in the early/mid 1960's. (I was just a 10 to 14 year old boy) They shipped the snakes by USPS in provided boxes and were paid by the foot of snake! Smart people don't capture venomous snakes! I was not too smart as a young guy or my ego got the best of me! The women who saw me capture copperheads in the nursery I worked at, for a while, saw me as a Crocodile Dundee type, viral male, or so I believed, evidently! Of course, now I see how deluded I was and how stupid it was! Do not mess around with venomous snakes, at all! Call a professional service or kill them immediately, when found around your home or work site! Better, that they die than you or a family member, visitor or pet! I encourage people to learn to identify local snakes and to not kill or harm non venomous snakes. Best wishes and keep safe! PS. I lost one of my most beloved dogs from a Copperhead bite after a week of vet care.

 

[Blue Raptor]

When I was young and dumb, I used to capture poisonous snakes for removal(or to show off). I still capture and relocate bothersome non venomous snakes.(with caution, as some can still give you a nasty bite and serious infections) I have witnessed bad snake bites and received a copperhead bite when I was a boy, that thankfully , was not real bad, as evidently the snake did not inject much venom. The necrosis of tissue, the effects on your entire circulatory system and organs are often horrendous! That is of course when you don't die a miserable death! With treatment beginning for me within about 30 minutes of the bite, and little venom injected (according to the doctors), I still had a serious and slow to heal wound area and some illness for weeks! I assisted(mostly watched) with catching Water Moccosins with my oldest brother and his friend, for resale to a Serpentarium for anti venom production, way back in the early/mid 1960's. (I was just a 10 to 14 year old boy) They shipped the snakes by USPS in provided boxes and were paid by the foot of snake! Smart people don't capture venomous snakes! I was not too smart as a young guy or my ego got the best of me! The women who saw me capture copperheads in the nursery I worked at, for a while, saw me as a Crocodile Dundee type, viral male, or so I believed, evidently! Of course, now I see how deluded I was and how stupid it was! Do not mess around with venomous snakes, at all! Call a professional service or kill them immediately, when found around your home or work site! Better, that they die than you or a family member, visitor or pet! I encourage people to learn to identify local snakes and to not kill or harm non venomous snakes. Best wishes and keep safe! PS. I lost one of my most beloved dogs from a Copperhead bite after a week of vet care.

 

[Outta Here]

When I was young and dumb, I used to capture poisonous snakes for removal(or to show off). I still capture and relocate bothersome non venomous snakes.(with caution, as some can still give you a nasty bite and serious infections) I have witnessed bad snake bites and received a copperhead bite when I was a boy, that thankfully , was not real bad, as evidently the snake did not inject much venom. The necrosis of tissue, the effects on your entire circulatory system and organs are often horrendous! That is of course when you don't die a miserable death! With treatment beginning for me within about 30 minutes of the bite, and little venom injected (according to the doctors), I still had a serious and slow to heal wound area and some illness for weeks! I assisted(mostly watched) with catching Water Moccosins with my oldest brother and his friend, for resale to a Serpentarium for anti venom production, way back in the early/mid 1960's. (I was just a 10 to 14 year old boy) They shipped the snakes by USPS in provided boxes and were paid by the foot of snake! Smart people don't capture venomous snakes! I was not too smart as a young guy or my ego got the best of me! The women who saw me capture copperheads in the nursery I worked at, for a while, saw me as a Crocodile Dundee type, viral male, or so I believed, evidently! Of course, now I see how deluded I was and how stupid it was! Do not mess around with venomous snakes, at all! Call a professional service or kill them immediately, when found around your home or work site! Better, that they die than you or a family member, visitor or pet! I encourage people to learn to identify local snakes and to not kill or harm non venomous snakes. Best wishes and keep safe! PS. I lost one of my most beloved dogs from a Copperhead bite after a week of vet care.

About immature viral male image: It is said the words before most snake bites are, "Hey, hold my beer and watch this!"

When I was young and dumb, I used to capture poisonous snakes for removal(or to show off). I still capture and relocate bothersome non venomous snakes.(with caution, as some can still give you a nasty bite and serious infections) I have witnessed bad snake bites and received a copperhead bite when I was a boy, that thankfully , was not real bad, as evidently the snake did not inject much venom. The necrosis of tissue, the effects on your entire circulatory system and organs are often horrendous! That is of course when you don't die a miserable death! With treatment beginning for me within about 30 minutes of the bite, and little venom injected (according to the doctors), I still had a serious and slow to heal wound area and some illness for weeks! I assisted(mostly watched) with catching Water Moccosins with my oldest brother and his friend, for resale to a Serpentarium for anti venom production, way back in the early/mid 1960's. (I was just a 10 to 14 year old boy) They shipped the snakes by USPS in provided boxes and were paid by the foot of snake! Smart people don't capture venomous snakes! I was not too smart as a young guy or my ego got the best of me! The women who saw me capture copperheads in the nursery I worked at, for a while, saw me as a Crocodile Dundee type, viral male, or so I believed, evidently! Of course, now I see how deluded I was and how stupid it was! Do not mess around with venomous snakes, at all! Call a professional service or kill them immediately, when found around your home or work site! Better, that they die than you or a family member, visitor or pet! I encourage people to learn to identify local snakes and to not kill or harm non venomous snakes. Best wishes and keep safe! PS. I lost one of my most beloved dogs from a Copperhead bite after a week of vet care.

 

[Ponypoor]

Nope

So will your hens eat the scorpions? My little wee Silkie Hen killed and ate a Garter Snake here that was about 7" (baby snake). Still I was surprised she knew how to peck it to death and then scarfed it back like spaghetti! My gals eat spiders, horse flies... anything they can get their little beaks onto.

 

[Birdsonghill]

So will your hens eat the scorpions? My little wee Silkie Hen killed and ate a Garter Snake here that was about 7" (baby snake). Still I was surprised she knew how to peck it to death and then scarfed it back like spaghetti! My gals eat spiders, horse flies... anything they can get their little beaks onto.

Young snakes are on chickens menus, however Guinea Fowl are better for that. I had guineas years ago as well. They ate snakes up to about a 15 inches! They also ate ticks and bugs in the gardens. They were loud and over time stopped returning to the coop reliably and preferred a rooftop or the trees. That led to them being eaten, one by one, by hawks, raccoons and especially the gray, tree dwelling/hunting fox!

 

[Hopeful homesteader]

Black Widows are also a big problem here. You learn early not to stick your hand into anything without looking first.

My laundry room is in the backyard, closed in but not sealed at all to keep critters out. My biggest issue is black widows so whenever I'm out in the yard and find daddy long leg spiders, I catch them and release them in the laundry room. There are at least 20 living in there year round and they stay up in the rafters, never seen a black widow in there yet so they're doing their job. Only found 1 in the car port, my husband killed it and 3 egg sacks. We also keep a wood stack in the backyard for lizards to live in, we don't use pesticides at all but the lizards keep the bugs in check. We have a lot of mesquite, skinks, ringnecks during the day and geckos that are nocturnal so it's like round the clock pest management lol. The newest critter that's moved into my yard are thread snakes, they're less than a foot long, as thick as a pencil and pink. All they eat are ants and termites and climb down into the holes in the dirt and clear out the colonies so I'm like make yourself at home little guy's. As long as it won't hurt my kids or my chickens, it's welcome in my yard.