MILK SNAKES! AHHHH maybe graphic

[dixygirl]

(quote removed by staff)
You could say the same thing about roaches and rats. They are not hurting anyone either so let them share your house with you.

I think it is a personal choice which critters you want to live with. Some people are allergic to different critter's bites and can die from one....remember. Many people who are old or with depressed immune system can not tolerate them. It could cause health risks to them that would not bother a healthy person. I for instance suffer many health issues and just the smell of certain critters can provoke anaphylactic shock in me and I could die instantly if i don't have proper help around. So remember that when you tell everyone what they must do.

No one should try to tell you what you MUST live with. If you like snakes that is fine. Don't bully anyone else into having them around who does not want to. That is rude, unfair and overstepping your bounds.

 

[CountryMom]

Whatever....! Any snake crawling across my chicken coop/yard is going to get offed, venomous or not. Even a non-venomous snake can eat a bird, or bite a dog. I'm not going to go out and purposely hunt them out, but if they end up on my patio, its the end of their days. Call me ignorant, but thats how it goes at my place...

Amen! Of course 99% of our snakes are copper heads I still don't like them near my house. I just killed a 5 foot rat snake with a belly full of eggs near my chicken coop. Trust me it was large enough to try to eat just about anything and was going after my lab with intent. I have three young children and don't care to take chances. Now in the cattle barns we don't bother them, but by the house - and coop is fairly close - or around my upper horse pens, they are gone. I am sure if I were walking into a bear's den he wouldn't stop and check the internet before he devoured me for intruding on his home.

 

[Sparrow]

Guys, the biggest issue I see here is the fact that the snake in the picture is absolutely NOT a Milksnake. It is a Corn Snake. Milksnakes do not come in that color or pattern. They are a completely different type of snake.

Milksnakes are the brightly colored guys, red, black and yellow. They are quite small, only a few feet maximum. Absolutely harmless snakes.

Corn/Ratsnakes are very similar to what you have posted a picture of. They are rough scaled, larger(up to 5-6 feet in some cases), much more aggressive(explains why you were bitten and bled, ticks) snakes. They are usually patterned similar to the snake in the picture, and come in mixtures of brown, black, grey predominantly. PLEASE Google the two types of snakes and compare them!

 

[ticks]

Actually there are many differnt sub-species of Milksnakes

The Eastern
http://www.umass.edu/nrec/snake_pit/pages/milk.html

 

[Wolf-Kim]

Quote:
I think that may be illegal. I know it is with most other wildlife. I am not certain though, so I would check before doing that.

-Kim

 

[Oblio13]

(edited by staff. READ THE RULES. If you are disturbed by the posts in the predator section then stay out of this section)

 

[Poulets De Cajun]

I'm not going to be naive enough to think that just because a snake isn't venomous it isn't going to eat my birds.

(edited by staff)

 

[Ugly Cowboy]

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No, they aint venomous, but they sure as heck can eat them ducklings! You want my advice, have a .22 on you at all times, them snakes aint the only creatures that like poultry!

Now, before yall jump on me for "killin just cuz I can," I've had all sorts of stuff come into the coop and eat my poultry, and I'll be darn if that keeps happening. I love snakes and all critters (except gophers but I also have to watch over my animals. In fact, I had a couple of Ball Pythons and a Corn snake growin up, and a coon and even a skunk. Ya know we have the right to protect our flock, and to talk about methods of, and those who dont agree with us killin the critters that are dining on our flock, well then your on the wrong topic, to be honest.

 

[Jolyn]

Sorry i would have killed it too. I have chicks, a bunny and MOST important children!!! I don't know snakes and if i see one i am not going to make friends with it. Thank goodness in my entire 37 years i've never had to deal with this issue.

 

[luvmychicknkids]

I don't know snakes and if i see one i am not going to make friends with it.

That is exactly why I think everyone should become as familiar as possible with every local species....snakes, spiders, etc. It wouldn't hurt to keep a chart. That way you don't have to guess, you KNOW. While I prefer other methods, I would never fault someone for kiling a venemous snake on their property. However, they are all beneficial and it just doesn't make sense to go around killing every snake you see. While yes, everyone has the right to kill them if they choose, there are just better alternatives.

OHHHHH egh, those are beautiful. I have a speckled kingsnake (his name is Sunset) and I saw my first Prairie Kingsnake last summer....just about freaked when he crawled over my sandled foot......at first glance I thought copperhead but then checked his head and was clueless until I googled him.​