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Post by Greathouse on May 22, 2013 23:25:36 GMT -6
Hey, if you're scared of something, you're scared of it. I saw my grandmother move as fast as I ever remember her moving chasing a snake with a hoe when I was little. No need to feel bad about it. Not offended in the least, and now, next time you have a plan if you catch another one! And at the very least, if Reelfoot won't take it, you could turn it loose there!
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Post by herb on May 23, 2013 7:52:39 GMT -6
Well lets hope nobody is irrationally afraid of kittens and posts a picture of one all boxed up and the talks about how they killed it because kittens give them the creeps. I'm not sure but I suspect there would be a good deal of outrage.
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Post by herb on May 23, 2013 8:02:55 GMT -6
Ignorance is fear Attachments:
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Post by herb on May 23, 2013 8:03:26 GMT -6
Education is power Attachments:
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Post by herb on May 23, 2013 8:04:20 GMT -6
Nature means coexisting in balance Attachments:
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Post by herb on May 23, 2013 8:05:57 GMT -6
Kill kittens, they are icky! Why harm a creature that CANNOT possibly hurt you and provides a benefit? Attachments:
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Post by chowdownsilkiefarm on May 23, 2013 10:43:08 GMT -6
Your right, I fear snakes. No doubt about that. I would never touch one dead or alive. My daughter on the other hand had several for pets. She would even catch the deadly ones and keep them in her snake aquarium. I wouldn't even go in because of them. She don't have snakes now. It's iguanas and rats. I don't like rodents either so I still won't go in. I think squirrls and rabbits are rodents but they taste good.
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Post by chowdownsilkiefarm on May 23, 2013 11:11:52 GMT -6
Ok, now I know that one your holding that is coiled around your fingers is a king snake but what are the others? Aren't they poisonous? The one's I call the ones with the hershey kisses on it is a copperhead. A cotton mouth I can't never identify till it opens it's mouth.
About 5 years ago I witnessed a snake lunge out from the tall grass and try to bite my dog which had thick fur like a chow. It did hit her but didnt bite thru all her thick fur. She was on a cleared path just walking along with the snake attacked her. If a snake will attack like that it can and will bite humans in the same way. I cherish my grandsons will all my being and would gladely trade places with them if it would keep them alive and/or unharmed. Snakes are a huge danger around here to my grandsons along with our animals and us. I caught a copperhead on a sticky trap in the house last year. So I would hope you could understand why I will kill any snake I can't identify as a threat to my family and animals. My grandsons love to go out into the woods behind our house. Bobby keeps trails mowed and sprays weed killer along the path so they can see if there is any snakes along the path but it don't deter the ones in the trees. One summer they brought home a snake they killed. I got my book out and looked for it and it was a copperhead. I'm glad they killed it but not glad that they even tried to. They could have gotten bitten in the process.
For you Herb I will try to identify before I kill it. I will also say that any animal that is a threat to my family or my chickens or my egg sales gets the same treatment as snakes and mice. If a dog comes in our yard and is trying to or has killed any of my poultry or grandsons it will not leave this yard alive. Same goes for cats that try to or do manage to get to the quail. I have 1 cat and she will hunt just about anything except for the birds that live here. She won't even bother the chicks. I can lock her up on the porch with the chicks and she don't even show any interest. Our big dog stays in a pen because she will try to kill my poultry. The only reason she hasn't been rehomed is she will bark at anything that comes in the yard so we know if something may be trying to get to our poultry. I always give whatever comes in the yard a chance to get out. If it keeps coming back then it won't leave alive. We have a chihuahua that belongs to Bobby's mother that is in a nursing home. She will act like she's gonna chase anything that may be loose but there isn't anything she can do on a lead. Our next door neighbors dogs come over here but they don't bother our birds.
The only thing a kitten or puppy would do is potty in our flower and vegetable gardens. And I would get stuck with trying to find it a home.
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Post by herb on May 23, 2013 11:48:27 GMT -6
I don't handle venomous snakes as there is no need for me to take the risk. I'm older and slower too.
Identifying the snake is critical. You can't go by just color or pattern as so many are similar. There is no telling how many poor eastern hog-nosed snakes have been killed as copperheads. Or other highly beneficial species killed as copperheads or water moccasins. Some people think that every snake in the water is one and that simply isn't true.
This truth is that in most, nearly all, man versus snake encounters - the snake dies and not the human.
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Post by spamela on May 23, 2013 12:13:44 GMT -6
Tennessee is home to 32 species of snakes, only 4 of which are venomous.In Tennessee it is illegal to harm, kill, remove from the wild, or possess native snakes taken from the wild without the proper permits. Please help the TWRA protect our native snakes. Remove the food source (usually mice in unprotected feed) and the snakes will leave. I keep all my feed in rubbermaid trashcans to keep the mice out. Haven't had a snake problem yet. See these links below for help identifying snakes. www.tennsnakes.org/Living%20with%20Snakes%20in%20Tennessee_PDF.pdfwww.tennsnakes.org/Cottonmouth%20Brochure.pdf
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Post by chowdownsilkiefarm on May 23, 2013 21:05:06 GMT -6
I keep my feed in the large rubbermaid totes. I don't leave the lids open while feeding. I scoop out what I need and close the lid. I did get distracted once and failed to snap the lid and I found 3 mice in it the next day. But I can't protect the feed from mice thats in the pens for the chickens to eat. I put out poison the other day and have been finding dead and dying mice everyday. Not as many as I would like to see though. I suspect they are going underground and dying. I would much rather not have any mice to draw in the snakes. Thats my goal anyway. I do have the minnow traps out to catch any snakes that may come and hang out in areas where we wouldn't see it before it saw us to protect us from any bites.
I do have a fear of snakes and i would much rather not have any in the yard. Last year we had a copperhead in a tomato plant that Bobby had been clearing the weeds out of. I had stood right next to it while watering the ducks. I just looked down and it was reared up ready to strike. I was lucky enough to have a small rake right next to me to shoo it away before it got me. I'm sure it was looking for a meal and not looking to bite me but I chased it away before I moved my foot. It did strike at the rake before it slithered off.
I didn't know that snakes where a protected species. I'm really surprised because there are so many. Since it got warm there are as many dead snakes on the road as there are opossums and raccoon's. Mostly they look to be either black racers or king snakes that I've seen on the road. I'll check out those sites. I have a book that identifies everything from plants, birds, fish, etc and where they're generally located. Thats what I use for a quick reference.
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Post by Crystal Lake Farms on May 23, 2013 21:16:22 GMT -6
Oops killed a snake today while driving. Kinda hard to miss it when it is stretched across one whole lane of traffic lol
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Post by chowdownsilkiefarm on May 23, 2013 21:20:06 GMT -6
I'll probably have my snake nightmare again tonight after looking at all those snake pictures. It's always the same dream when I've seen many snakes.
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Post by herb on May 24, 2013 8:54:58 GMT -6
OH MY GOSH! Last night I went into the barn near dark. I heard this awful terrifying sound behind me. My heart was racing and I stared to sweat when I saw the horrible grotesque animal between me and the door. I was afraid for my life. I am a big guy but the teeth and claws and aggressive nature had me afraid for my life! This thing was HUGE very sinister and solid black. I had no way out. I was certain I was going to be killed and eaten. This thing was huge, I don't think it was even full grown yet but certainly capable of inflicting deadly wounds. Fortunately, I was able to reach a hammer on a shelf and . . . . . . . otherwise I was a goner for sure. It was nearly 4 inches high at the shoulder and 6 inches long not counting the tail. It was a MONSTER and probably weighed at least 10 ounces. I was fortunate to escape without a scratch. I may start carrying a gun when I go to the barn. Attachments:
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Post by chowdownsilkiefarm on May 24, 2013 20:00:41 GMT -6
Your too funny. Too bad you found that hammer. That monster may have been hunting a snake. lol
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