Thought I'd share my little surprise with everyone-warning snake pics!

[foxinachickenhouse]

wow, nice job. what a beautiful snake. I don't envy you folks who have to deal with poisonous snakes regularly. I used to live in rattler country and love rattlers though. They are so considerate to warn you of their presence. Never had a problem and left them alone. It's funny because I catch snakes all the time here in northwest Oregon where there are no poisonous snakes. We get wide eyed

if a red racer has made it to 18 inches. Occasionally I see a bull snake over a couple of feet. What I wouldn't give for a good rat snake under my neighbors shed.

I even see the yahoos around here rushing to kill a little garter snake. Stupid. Snakes beat rats any day and nobody ever got the plague from a snake.

 

[95yj]

great job. their aren't many people who could see the beauty in a massive snake after it just ate a bunch of ready to hatch eggs. glad its still alive and well.

 

[HorseFeathers]

Thanks for not killing the snake.

 

[peachlover]

I so would have got my eggs back from that snake. You are better than me.

 

[Ozark Chicken]

We see them a lot around here, especially in the spring. They are incredible creatures. usually pretty docile. I had put some logs in the back of an old suburban for firewood at a camping trip only to have a large rat snake crawl out to lay on the transmission tunnel by my feet while I was doing 70mph on I-40 heading to petty jean with a 30 foot camper trailer in tow. I calmly picked up my feet and let it slow as I pulled over, got out and walked around the truck and got the snake out gently. Then went back to the trailer to get fresh clothes that didnt smelll so bad LOL.
Glad you let him live

 

[chooniecat]

now see-THAT did not occur to me and I probably would have gotten them in that case. don't want to kill anything unless necessary and they DO swallow whole so?
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[Chickaholic]

WOW!! Huge snake!! I don't have a snake problem, but I do have a chicken hawk and raccoon problem, but so far so good on that. I really would have freaked if I saw a snake that big, you are a brave woman!! YO GO GIRL!!!

 

[Rooster#3]

i agree something that big and old i respect it enough to not kill it

 

[sred98]

Well, they swallow them whole, but are usually crushed on the way down. I did feel bad about him regurgitating some back up on me.

As big as he was, I'm sure he'd been living there a while and just ran out of rodents. My MIL complains because she's got rats. I keep telling her if she'd quit killing the kingsnakes, the rat problem would be gone! They kill any snake they see.

I understand being afraid of them, but seems the rodents are much more dangerous...both from a disease standpoint, and just plain destructiveness.

I had second thoughts about removing him, but I knew he'd eat all the eggs, and I'd love to have babies. This is my first big hatch. My cat disappeared, so I have no rodent control besides the chickens, right now.

As far as the poisonous ones, we only kill the ones up by the house. If we are in the woods, several acres away, we leave them alone. The ones we see the most are the copperheads, and they can have nasty attitudes. They're pretty aggressive, so if we see them up here, they are gone. The cottonmouths usually go away if they hear us coming. We haven't seen/heard any rattlers, but I am sure they are here.

I tend to leave things alone, unless they are caught in the act, like the snake was. If I hadn't seen him eating the eggs, he'd be given the benefit of the doubt, and left alone. We have a large coyote population on our property. I have never seen any evidence of them coming into the cleared area around the house. No tracks, no missing animals (except maybe my cat, but I have no proof) and I won't shoot at them. If I see them around the cleared area, I might yell or shoot into the air to remind them this is my area, but anything in the wooded area is considered "communal" property by me. Same with the mountain lion. She stays away, I stay away. I like having them close, and see no reason to disrupt them. I know a lot of people don't agree with that, or understand it, but that is how we live. Now, the boys aren't allowed to camp overnight outside, even in the cleared area. I don't want to tempt fate, and I know the kids don't really understand that, but they accept it. It's just not allowed.

I wish I'd gotten some better pics of the snake (it was a black rat snake with the red and white markings) but DD was panicking and it was making the snake nervous. I do have to say that even though he spit up a little egg, he never musked me! He was a very nice snake. Thank goodness!

Thanks for all the support! I know it's not for everyone, but you just don't see snakes that big, that often. I think the record for that kind was 8 feet. He's probably only got a few more years to go! LOL!
Shelly