Snakes!.... *graphic*

[Posh Chickens]

Good luck in america! All we have over here is a hare and the rare grass snake

 

[BrattishTaz]

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[mtngrl812]

I had always thought copperheads were a type of "rattler" maybe I am confusing them all with being pit vipers. I always look for the rattle to see if it is a "bad" snake in my area. Most often though, the ones I have seen are very vibrant green ... and hanging from my cat's mouth
We do have Bullsnakes around here, and I am sure they would eat eggs if hungry, but most often they eat mice and rodents and I've heard they eat rattlers, so they are a good snake.

 

[SRTchick]

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Can you "snakeproof" a coop?? I guess I was more worried about raccoons, possums and dogs getting into my coops. I have found a 4 ft. long snake skin in my backyard next to a tree, so I KNOW they are out there...now, I worry about my chicks and eggs!

 

[GiddyMoon]

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Yea, but we still have America, and you don't

 

[mercedes]

You texas people and your copperheads are creeping me out

I too live in central texas and have been gardening a lot a lot in the past several weeks.One eye has been looking for snakes whenever I am outside in the garden or coop.Copperheads really,really scare me.

 

[m_shuman]

This year we have killed 3 copper heads. They seem to be everywhere because they were all killed in different places. Our lot, at my MIL's house and and our aunts house. Thank goodness we haven't seen them at our house but I am sure they are there because we live in the woods by a creek. BTW we are in S.GA.

 

[so lucky]

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Those cute little green snakes are getting hard to find here in SE Missouri. What a beautiful vivid green they are! I have used them to teach kids who are freaked out about snakes, that they are not all bad, and not all bite. I couldn't tell you how many of those I captured and kept as temporary pets when I was a little girl.

 

[Hoosierchickens]

Yeah, copperheads aren't rattlers which is what makes them so dangerous. They are well camoflaged in leaves and underbrush and they don't give you any warning if you get too close like a rattler does. One of the best ways to keep copperheads in check is to have a healthy population of king snakes. They kill venomous snakes like rattlers and copperheads and they are docile. They will however eat eggs and chicks if they find a way in but of all the US snakes I think they are the most beneficial to have around and are worth the risks. I catch them and toss them in my crawl space to eat the mice.

 

[cackydoodledoo]

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Bull snakes do eat rattlers which is why we never kill them if we find them. We just kindly relocate them back out in the prairie and if they find their way back again we stuff em in a cloth bag and drive about 5 miles away and let them out there!! We have both rattlers and bull snakes here and the occasional garden snake. I hate them all!!!! The copperheads look really similar to the rattlers. Also bull snakes will mimic a rattler and shake their tail so don't kill every snake that shakes it's tail!!!