# Protection from Snakes - Dogs? Fowl?



## Rollochrome (Apr 9, 2012)

Our new property has copperheads and rattlesnakes commonly here and there.

I have four small children.

It's 12 acres and a house.

I want overkill on snake protection.

Would you go with some sort of terrier pack?

Perhaps a family of guineas?

Both???


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## DaniR1968 (May 24, 2008)

Get a nice, big rat snake. They are not poisonous and are extremely territorial. They will run off or kill the other snakes.


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## Rock (Jan 5, 2009)

Chickens always take care of most snakes.


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## Maura (Jun 6, 2004)

Chickens are from India, where there are cobras. They still have the "kill snake" gene and will attack all snakes. Now, a large snake could take out a chicken, but the chickens will kill the baby snakes and attack larger snakes (peck, peck, peck). I've seen them go after little rat snakes, which I wish they wouldn't.


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## motdaugrnds (Jul 3, 2002)

I agree with Dani. In fact I would make sure I had a "breeding pair" of those black rat snakes. They get over 7 ft long and do a real good job of keeping other snakes off their teritory. (Your kids can also make pets of them if they learn how.)

Of course, you may need to be prepared to lose some of your eggs.


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## Rollochrome (Apr 9, 2012)

Im not down with any snakes. Beneficial or not.


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## Delrio (Mar 11, 2007)

Chickens slurp them up like spaghetti!


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## okiemom (May 12, 2002)

had the same problem here. got dogs and chickens. the dogs would stay with the kids and the chickens would also be close so no snakes. now there was not any concrete that was safe from chicken poo. right in front of the door was the most popular. would have to wash down the pathways often. small price


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## Hexe (Mar 8, 2007)

When I lived in Northern California there were flocks of feral peacocks around and the rule of thumb was that you either had peacocks or snakes, but not both. 

Good luck.


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## whodunit (Mar 29, 2004)

Pigs.


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## DenMacII (Aug 16, 2008)

I have a cousin that bought a place in Nor Cal several years ago. The first year the wild turkeys trashed all their landscaping so they put up a bunch of fencing to keep the turkeys out. That next year they killed 27 rattlesnakes... Realizing the turkeys kept the rattlesnakes out they removed the fencing and solved their rattlesnake problem.

I moved from rattlesnake country - where I killed 4 in the past 7 years - to copperhead country and I've killed two in the past 3 months. I am guessing that once we have our chickens established - and the copperheads realize this is not a safe place to live I will not be finding them as much.


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## Tango (Aug 19, 2002)

Teach your children; let our next generation grown up with a little common sense and dare I say wisdom regarding all of God's creatures. They shouldn't go off into tall grass or wood piles. Fence off an area and keep it clean of trash, keep it mowed, keep a small flock of gentle hens there.. Venomous snakes are usually shy (in the U.S. anyway). They will not bite when unprovoked. Children often step on them accidentally because an area is overgrown or otherwise not clean. Snakes have habits that can be learned by those who move into wooded areas. They like warm sunny areas in the morning; they are very sluggish after a meal. The young ones are less discerning and so more dangerous than the adults, they are born in late summer and fall... learn about snakes and you can easily co-exist.


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## Rollochrome (Apr 9, 2012)

We are.

Thanks


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## motdaugrnds (Jul 3, 2002)

Well, I just had an experience that has pretty much set me on edge.

In the past 18 yrs I've seen only 3 poisonous snakes, though I've little doubt there were some I did not see. However, I've seen (and encouraged) many large and small black rat snakes. I always thought the black rats wee keeping the poisonous snakes off. (I have also always had guineas, geese and chickens free ranging.) Then this past week David brought in a copperhead...a pregnant copperhead. He was holding it just behind its head, it was about 3 ft long, its tail was twitching and it was still alive. He had caught it crawling across the barn floor on top of the straw bedding. Since it was a rather cool morning, it was moving slowly. 

David, of course, killed it and destroyed all "eight" of its live babies (3 were already out of the sack). I've since learned copperheads are social creatures who will den with both rattle snakes as well as black rat snakes...so much for "territorial" black snake myths! 

Since this one was pregant, we know there is a male around somewhere; and since it will den with black rats, I have little doubt there are more around. Now maybe our fowl have been taking care of the babies; but what about these grown ones? The black rats here (some 7 ft long) are not keeping them off this place (nor out of the barn where I know these black rats live).

I've heard of a type of vibrator run by batteries and solar that one is suppose to push into the ground to cover 120 ft radius; but do they really work? (They cost about $80 each.) 

Thus, I've the same dilemma now as the OP.................


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## BanTam (May 11, 2013)

Last night I killed a baby rattlesnake about a foot long. It must be getting toward Fall. We have had years where we have killed about 10 babies in one season. I don't shoot them, I cut their heads off with a hoe. Last year we had a dead rattlesnake in the feed barn with 11rattles. We think I ran over it in the driveway and that's where it died.

A few years ago we had a _terrible_ problem with Chicken Snakes (AKA Rat Snakes). We killed them because they ate ALL the eggs every day AND they would try to swallow a whole chicken! Of course, the chickens didn't survive the attacks. In other words, the chickens did not scare off those snakes.

We have had chickens, guineas (actually not ours but roamed our acreage all day), dogs, cats and horses. Not to mention we have families of Roadrunners around us. Twice now, my cat as alerted me to small rattlesnakes. 

Rattlesnakes give birth to live babies, not eggs. I have heard that snakes go back to where they were born to give birth?? My hope is to get rid of the 40 year old feed barn and HOPEFULLY get rid of their birthing ground.


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## motdaugrnds (Jul 3, 2002)

I just noticed the floor (soil & old compacted bedding) sounds hollow; and having found that copperhead, this concerns me. Thus, I am going to wait until very cold weather, take the rod I use to help me dig holes in hard ground, and punch some holes in that floor. Then I'm going to cover the floor with plastic sheeting, letting it extend out beyond the floor and set off some Raid smokers under that plastic. What it does not kill, it will chase out into the cold where they will die!!!


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## 8531jarhed (Sep 13, 2013)

Geese will kill snakes, eat ticks and other nuisance insects, chase off coyotes/dogs etc., warn you when someone/something gets near your property.


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## CAjerseychick (Aug 11, 2013)

I had 2 dogs-- a english pointer and then a few yrs later an old Boxer gal that would warn of snakes and bark their heads off at them (this only helps if your kids know to at that point to get away)...


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## motdaugrnds (Jul 3, 2002)

David just found (and killed) the "grown" male copperhead...on the same barn floor as the female had been found.

I called the Game Warden hoping for some insight as to how to deal with this and was pretty much told there was nothing that could be done other than throwing some mothballs around.


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## Molly Mckee (Jul 8, 2006)

Mothballs are poison to most animals--I would not use them anywhere on my land. You might kill your dogs or anything else.


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