Shocked!

[Shezadandy]

Holy crap! That's both sad and awesome!

I was very, very surprised because it wasn't just a little bitty squirrel either! Alas, I cannot run as fast as a chicken or a squirrel ... and could only watch.

 

[elphabafalls]

Yes, it's lucky she's one of those English-speaking birds!

I wish we could say venomous snakes were rare in our area. Our puppy had a close call with a timber rattler a couple weeks before that, and I bricked that situation, too. Luckily the puppy listened as well as the chicken and avoided being bitten, and DH was there and saved the day again. Gotta get that man a cape.

Both your posts on this thread made me laugh so hard. I've had a tough week so far, so thank you for that.

 

[HiEverybirdy]

Damn! Very poisonous snake, I'm glad nobody got hurt! Reminds me of that time a raccoon was laying next to the hiking trail and I stepped about 2 inches from it's face.

Okay, that's horrifying. Particularly because if a raccoon's lying down by a hiking trail, it's not right, and a not-right raccoon can do some damage.

And yeah, copperheads are not only poisonous, they're so mean! Not a fan, even though they are absolutely gorgeous. They glow, you know? That's the one differentiator from all the non-venomous copperhead lookalikes that we don't talk about: their star power.

Now, every morning, I wear my glasses and huge, snake-proof hunting boots (which for some reason don't come in ladies' sizes, but I have big feet, so whatever) and do a snake-walk around their yard before unlocking the coops. We leave the brush there high so they can hide from hawks – and because the brush is all wildflowers, which is good for our bees – but it's also good for snakes. Darned if you do and if you don't.

 

[HiEverybirdy]

Both your posts on this thread made me laugh so hard. I've had a tough week so far, so thank you for that.

Thank you for taking the time to say that. Made my day! Good vibes for the rest of your week--hope it gets better.

 

[black_cat]

Okay, that's horrifying. Particularly because if a raccoon's lying down by a hiking trail, it's not right, and a not-right raccoon can do some damage.

And yeah, copperheads are not only poisonous, they're so mean! Not a fan, even though they are absolutely gorgeous. They glow, you know? That's the one differentiator from all the non-venomous copperhead lookalikes that we don't talk about: their star power.

Now, every morning, I wear my glasses and huge, snake-proof hunting boots (which for some reason don't come in ladies' sizes, but I have big feet, so whatever) and do a snake-walk around their yard before unlocking the coops. We leave the brush there high so they can hide from hawks – and because the brush is all wildflowers, which is good for our bees – but it's also good for snakes. Darned if you do and if you don't.

We think that the raccoon was dying. It was just laying there, and I screamed so loud they could probably hear it in oregon, and it didn't do anything.

I haven't had many snake encounters. Only a few garter snakes. I just don't live in a snakey place.

 

[Mya05]

We have a flock of 12 chickens that are a little over 2 months old. They have a portable playpen, a permanent run and we let them run the whole yard quite often. The other night, the chicks were having a good time running free outside their run. Suddenly, Maggie Mae runs away from the rest of the group with something in her mouth. They do this when they find treasure because the other chicks will chase the chick with the goodie down and force them to share. Since we'd been doing some construction in the back yard lately, I chased Maggie down just to make sure she didn't have something that was bad for her. We try to be super careful, but you never know. When I finally caught up with her, I realized that she had a baby snake in her mouth....which she slurped down like a piece of spaghetti! Is this normal? Rain, our Lavender Orpington, is our bat crap crazy chicken. Do we have 2? lol

I haven't seen one that young go for a but, they don't call 'em backyard raptors for nothing I have seen our little raptors enjoying brown snakes, and rat snakes. Most recently, Runa, pictured below, hightailed it across the yard with a brown snake hanging out of her beak. She ran behind our shed, and slurped it up, then nonchalantly rejoined the rest of the flock It was awesome to watch!

 

[bobbi-j]

Many years ago, I found a mouse in the chicken feed. I grabbed a cat and tossed her in the feed bin. She caught the mouse and followed me into their pen. The chickens chased that poor cat down, stole her mouse, and started playing keep away with it.

 

[elphabafalls]

I haven't seen one that young go for a but, they don't call 'em backyard raptors for nothing I have seen our little raptors enjoying brown snakes, and rat snakes. Most recently, Runa, pictured below, hightailed it across the yard with a brown snake hanging out of her beak. She ran behind our shed, and slurped it up, then nonchalantly rejoined the rest of the flock It was awesome to watch!

Last night, a 2nd chick in our flock, Abbey, found a snake that was 6 or 7 inches long. After outrunning the other chicks and spending some time finishing off the snake, Abbey ate the whole thing. It took her a few tries because it was so large, but she's no quitter lol. You're right, though - it was awesome to watch! I loved hearing about Runa's adventure!! She's a beautiful girl.

 

[elphabafalls]

We think that the raccoon was dying. It was just laying there, and I screamed so loud they could probably hear it in oregon, and it didn't do anything.

I haven't had many snake encounters. Only a few garter snakes. I just don't live in a snakey place.

I know raccoons can be nightmares when they want to, but poor little thing. I hate to hear when animals suffer. "I just don't live in a snakey place." lololololol

 

[black_cat]

I know raccoons can be nightmares when they want to, but poor little thing. I hate to hear when animals suffer. "I just don't live in a snakey place." lololololol

I feel bad for it as well....just not when it's in biting range of my ankle! We told people that were heading up the trail about it, and advised people with dogs to stay away. We called animal control but I'm not sure what happened to it in the end. If I lived in a snakely place I'd probably be dead already, so it's probably a good thing I don't