I had an interesting start to my morning. Went out at sunrise to do the chicken chores. As I approached the hen yard I heard this hiss. Being it was that early in the morning I knew it could not be cicadas. I looked around and could not see anything immediately, then I spotted him, a huge rattlesnake. He seemed to be stuck in the chick fencing that is inside the regular fencing. I ran to the house, put on my tall boots, grabbed my shovel, went back to t scene, struck the snake behind the head with the point of the shovel, shoved the shovel with the head under it deep into the earth until he stopped rattling at me! By the time he was dead I was breathing hard. I completely decapitated it, buried the head elsewhere since even a dead snake head can be poisonous. When I let the chickens out they were leary to go near the headless body since it was still writhing. Now for a cup of coffee.
Good goin!! I had a similar thing with a rat snake and my new guinea keets. I had the keets in a big dog box brooder. I found a rat snake with part of it`s body through the 1" wire door with a keet in it`s mouth. It couldn`t get out without releasing the keet. I whacked it with a shovel and it spit the keet out. the keet survived. Cool, huh?...................Pop
Phew!! That woulda scared me! I'm terrified of snakes... I don't like walking in tall grass, meaning grass past my ankles, for fear that one will ''get me''.
When you live where I do rattlesnakes at this time of the year is common. This is the first one this year. I know now that if I go anywhere on this property other than from my front door to the car it is prudent to wear my high boots. I just came back in from slitting the rattler open and exposing the innards for the chickens to eat. If they will.
and no, rattlesnakes do not taste like chicken. My son skinned one and cooked it, could not down it. It was awful.
Quote:Hmm thats odd I skin em and eat em just fine and there delicious. expecially in a good pot of chili with some deer meat.
