Critter Wranglin'

We do a lot of that out here. Mike was moving hay in the barn and we came across a fat, black snake coiled up between bales. We didn't hesitate to see if it was a ratsnake or a cotton mouth (we have a lot of those since we're right by the creek), so we immediately went for the kill. Mike and I pulled it out as it was trying to slither down into the bales. It struck at us, and Mike asked "do you want to do this?" I really did, LOL. So he traded me the t-post for the shovel I was holding (it wasn't heavy enough) and I got rid of the stinkin' thing.







It was a good 5 feet long, as you can see. I checked its markings and went inside and checked my trusty snake website, http://oksnakes.org/. It turned out to be a black ratsnake. It was harmless and would've eaten rodents for us, but oh well. I'd rather not risk a cotton mouth hanging around in the barn where us and the kids are frequently, and where the goats go for shelter and hay. Snakes found in the barn will go without question. There turned out to be a good reason to eliminate him after all;




This momma banty was nesting just a few bales away and that mean old snake would've eaten her precious little eggs. Mike found her behind some bales. When he moved them and even raked around her, she never so much as flinched. Funny, because when I was working in the barn this spring I came upon her unknowingly and she chased me for getting too close to her newly-hatched brood. :-)