snake food!!!!

[amazondoc]

They'll only grow too fast if you feed em too much....if you think they're growing too fast on frozen food, just feed them less often.

For the OP, you do need to look for large scale rabbit or chicken breeders who are doing a lot of culling. I'm not a big fan of having private individuals keeping giant snakes -- but if you're going to do it anyway, buying the rejects from a breeding operation is probably the least wasteful way to go.

 

[gypsy2621]

Quote:
I am not a huge fan of some of the larger snake breeds being owned by individuals either..
While a 10 ft burm looks so cool in a enclosure, its pretty scarey to see one burst through said enclosure when aggitated and or hungry or both at the same time. duck and jump just dont always cut it..
Most times in this area I am the one they call to handle the larger more dangerous snakes, while not afraid of snakes , I do have a healthy respect for how fast and deadly they are.
Burmese, Retics, and Carpets and in this state Anacondas (green) are legal as are Monitors and a few of the other larger Lizards.
I hate to say it but most of the larger snakes are kept as Statis Symbols, The more cajonies than brain syndrom.,

I could tell youu horror stories about a particular 15 ft Burm who decided that someones arm was dinner. it was nasty and lightning fast. Had this person been alone when this happened a life would have been lost.
Thankfully She had sense enough to call me when she had to feed this particular snake. at 150 lbs the snake alone nearly outweighed me, no lives were lost snake and human were both detached with only the snake losing a few teeth and the human with bruises and nerve damage.
I would encourage anyone deciding to buy any of the snakes above to do HOMEWORK, know what you are dealing with after the cute 2 ft stage of life. The larger they get the stronger and more dangerous.
after thought.
Snakes are the only creature who never lose its complete ablity to return to the wild. They are tolerant of humans but never lose their wild capabilities.
NEVER release any non native snake into the wild, it will adapt

 

[hypnofrogstevie]

Maybe you can work out a deal with mcmurray hatchery? Who knows what happens to all the rejected rooster chicks?

 

[burmeselover15]

ive been keeping snakes for many years many and ever had an accident with any of them. if you know what your doing and take the right precautions then everything will be just fine. most big snakes are just teddy bears anyways if they are feed and treated and everything right

 

[agirard]

Hello,
interesting, even if weird sounding question on a forum about chickens.
To get the best price for animals that otherwise end up killed anyway, you need to find a hatchery in your area that does egg-laying hens.
When the chicks are born, they sex them and just keep the females, to grow into egg-laying hens.
The males, called in French"coq-frères" ( brother chicks?) (Yep, I am from that French speaking part of North America) are routinely sold to people raising birds of prey, who use them as food for their falcons, etc.
You can also buy these day-old chicks, but the producer will want to sell you these by the humdreds, if not by the thousand.

You really want to buy the males, as they are usually priced at 5¢ each. The females are sold at around 1.00$ each.
Flesh chickens are not a deal either, because both sexes are used by the industry, and are thus sold at 1.00$ each.
The industry has no use for the males of egg-layers breeds, because they don't fleshup quick enough. They are considered waste.
Besides a few Italians who know their food and will rise them for chicken instead of our overquick-growing, soft fleshed, insipid barbecue chicken, these birds have really no other use and would be killed anyway.
At least, you would be making use of this little life that would be shed anyway.

Now, the hatchery will probably charge you 3.00$ per box the chicks are in, as they are special boxes, and this almost doubles the price per hundred from the start. I wisely bring my own cardboard boxes.

If you want to buy them already frozen, you can go to Rodentpro, but you'll probably end up paying 25¢ per chick, plus shipping fees.
If you have other friends who own snakes or reptiles, you can even start a little business, or share with them. On Rodentpro, you will even get the nutritional values of different preys. Chicks are similar to mices in this aspect.
And snakes are like everybody else: they love chicken!

Two things, though: you have to kill them humanely, of course; and, most important: don't EVER show them alive to your kids or bring the chirping boxes in your home when the kids are there, if you have kids: you'll likely traumatize your kids or break their hearts, and have to dryso many heartbroken tears: baby chicks are really so cute!
Worse: don't EVER think of putting them to sleep in front of kids: they would resent you for life!
And I can't garantee you yourself won't feel sad afterwards.
The only thing I know is: it sure beats rising mices and rats and killing them (ugghhh...).
And these poor chicks would anyway end up dead, but go in the trash otherwise.

If you want to discuss this even more (ex.: quickest, most economical and humane way of dispatching them), just email me.