Snakes For Varmint Control!

[canesisters]

I found a coral snake on some land we own just a few weeks ago. It was laying there dead, just inside the gate. I checked all the horses, legs and noses, but no bites. Near the snake were hoof prints, dug in deep at the toe and dragged. I think my mule pawed it to death. The horses were wary of the dead snake and walked cautiously around it, but the mule boldly sniffed it, then snorted and walked away. It is the first coral snake outside of a zoo I have ever seen.

Marshall, teach your campers the old rhyme that us'ins in coral snake recite.

Red and yella, kill a fella.
Red and black, friend of Jack.

Hey Bay, have you seen the articles about another 'Bad A$$' mule?
http://www.snopes.com/photos/animals/mulelion.asp
My old mule was nearly blind and somewhere in his 30's when he ran off a bear early one morning (or maybe all he did was run the horses to safety.. either way 'Good Boy!). We found tracks and hair in the paddock - but the hair on the pushed over gate post came from John Henry's chest and he and the horses were safely in the front yard when the dogs alerted us that something was wrong.

 

[Ridgerunner]

That ole saying goes mostly true for Snakes in the wild, but I checked it out Bay. With all the breeding they've done with Kingsnakes for colorfulness it is not quite true for captive bred Kingsnakes anymore.

www.google.com

go to google and type in Kingsnakes, click enter. then look up toward the top left of the page for the word
Images
and click it. *poof*
pictures of kingsnakes of all color variations.

I went through those photos Marshal. I saw none I would confuse with a coral snake using that rhyme. I saw one that was red and yellow, no black, but a coral snake has black. When Im in captivity Ill remember what you said, but in the wild, Im quoting poetry.

Theres your chance to educate people about the good snakes Marshall. When you are sitting around the campfire with the kids, singing Puff the Magic Dragon and otherwise training the next generation of hippies, you can tell them how to tell a king snake from a coral snake and sinking the message home that there is a difference in good snakes and dangerous snakes. Maybe you can talk Steve into coming down and handling some safe snakes. Those kids would be fascinated.

While were into photos, I saw a king snake colored like this here a couple of years ago.

http://www.google.com/url?sa=i&sour..._ZVvkBwRZqYar8WvB46_I3KA&ust=1381320246827251

 

[thistlebloom]

I found a coral snake on some land we own just a few weeks ago. It was laying there dead, just inside the gate. I checked all the horses, legs and noses, but no bites. Near the snake were hoof prints, dug in deep at the toe and dragged. I think my mule pawed it to death. The horses were wary of the dead snake and walked cautiously around it, but the mule boldly sniffed it, then snorted and walked away. It is the first coral snake outside of a zoo I have ever seen.

Marshall, teach your campers the old rhyme that us'ins in coral snake recite.

Red and yella, kill a fella.
Red and black, friend of Jack.

Hey Bay, have you seen the articles about another 'Bad A$$' mule?
http://www.snopes.com/photos/animals/mulelion.asp
My old mule was nearly blind and somewhere in his 30's when he ran off a bear early one morning (or maybe all he did was run the horses to safety.. either way 'Good Boy!). We found tracks and hair in the paddock - but the hair on the pushed over gate post came from John Henry's chest and he and the horses were safely in the front yard when the dogs alerted us that something was wrong.

I had a very protective mule too. We went on vacation one year and my neighbor took care of all the livestock for us. When we got back she told us about the sad demise of the 4 white leghorns we had been given right before we left and whom I had let run loose in the yard rather than putting in the pen with my flock. It seems Cactus took exception with them entering the corral and stomped them. The neighbor would gingerly push them out of the corral every time she went to feed but each time she came back they would be in again, in increasingly worse condition. Cactus was just determined that those birds learn that lesson!

Okay. That wasn't as impressive as John Henrys courageous action, but when a mule doesn't have a bear to fight off, a white chicken will do.

 

[baymule]

We had a house chicken once. We had cows and had 2 jacks in with them to protect the calves. Those donkeys stomped everything they could catch. A hen hatched out her brood and the jacks got busy. DH tossed them over the fence when he found their bodies. We went out one night late, in pouring rain to check the cows and DH cupped his hands over the last remaining chick. With rain streaming off him, he insisted that we take it home to keep it from getting stomped to death. Gotta love a guy like that.

We kept her in a cage in the kitchen and let her out when we got home from work. We fed 3 dogs and 2 cats in one big bowl in the kitchen. That chicken got in the middle of the bowl, pecking, eating and scratching. If a dog or cat dared to take a bite, it was soundly pecked on the nose by the upstart chicken. Ringed by hungry dogs and cats that could take her in one bite, the chicken was oblivious. Little Chicken ruled.

Didn't mean to hi-jack your snake thread Marshall, but snakes led to mules, then to chickens............

Back to your regularly scheduled snake thread.

 

[thistlebloom]

So Marshall what we did was not actually hijacking, we are just letting you know that if you can't get a snake, a mule or a chicken might be your next best bet.

 

[canesisters]

 

[Nyboy]

I always wanted a mini donkey are there mini mules ?

 

[canesisters]

Mini donkey + mini horse = mini mule.

Sorry Marshall.... promise, no more chicken/mule talk on your thread
Back to King Snakes!

 

[baymule]

 

[bobm]

Donkeys, mules, as well as horses have been known to break their legs while stepping on gopher, ground squirrel, ground hog, prairiedog , etc. holes.