Our friend was back today. I knew he would be. He slips in every few days, to grab an egg or two and then slithers back under the shed. Check the chicken pen several times a day had been the routine.
Jilda made a peach and blueberry cobbler just after lunch for our dinner guest this evening. When I walked out to toss the peach peelings into the chicken pen, he was there with an egg in his mouth.
I quietly stepped back out of sight and went back inside for my long-sleeve coat and my gloves.
There's an old bread box in the shed where I'd stored old tools that I knew would be a perfect snack carrier. Emptying the box in another toolbox, I slipped into the chicken pen.
While he was dining, I grabbed him in the middle. Jilda came out to watch from a distance and when I came out of the nest with this snake that was longer than I am tall she hollered "Be careful."
As I stepped backward with the snake in hand, my leg got tangled with the bottom of the roost and I went sprawling. When I landed, the snake was partially beneath me. I almost had a hygiene emergency, but I was on my feet quicker than a cat. Still holding the snake, I flung it into the bread box and flipped the lid closed. I could hear that rascal writhing in the box.
He was not happy, but that bad boy was about to take a slow ride to the county line.
I found a wide place in the road and pulled to the side.
Hefting the box from the back of the truck, I laid it on its side and opened it a little.
I pulled my phone from my pocket, and waited for him to make his exit. I thought I'd take one of him exiting and then get a full-length picture of him, but he was camera shy. A split second after this photo, he was out the other side of the box and in the underbrush before I could take another photo.
Hopefully when I introduce the new chicks into the big pen, there won't be any unwanted guests until they get big enough to fend for themselves.
Jilda made a peach and blueberry cobbler just after lunch for our dinner guest this evening. When I walked out to toss the peach peelings into the chicken pen, he was there with an egg in his mouth.
I quietly stepped back out of sight and went back inside for my long-sleeve coat and my gloves.There's an old bread box in the shed where I'd stored old tools that I knew would be a perfect snack carrier. Emptying the box in another toolbox, I slipped into the chicken pen.
While he was dining, I grabbed him in the middle. Jilda came out to watch from a distance and when I came out of the nest with this snake that was longer than I am tall she hollered "Be careful."
As I stepped backward with the snake in hand, my leg got tangled with the bottom of the roost and I went sprawling. When I landed, the snake was partially beneath me. I almost had a hygiene emergency, but I was on my feet quicker than a cat. Still holding the snake, I flung it into the bread box and flipped the lid closed. I could hear that rascal writhing in the box.
He was not happy, but that bad boy was about to take a slow ride to the county line.
I found a wide place in the road and pulled to the side.
Hefting the box from the back of the truck, I laid it on its side and opened it a little.
I pulled my phone from my pocket, and waited for him to make his exit. I thought I'd take one of him exiting and then get a full-length picture of him, but he was camera shy. A split second after this photo, he was out the other side of the box and in the underbrush before I could take another photo.
Hopefully when I introduce the new chicks into the big pen, there won't be any unwanted guests until they get big enough to fend for themselves.
You definitely handled it differently than I would have. But I admire the grabbing guts. I will grab one in the early spring when they are slower than I, but not in this warm weather, THEM DUDES IS FAST in this weather...
ReplyDeleteGood going..
Wow, you are a regular Indiana Jones. My hat's off to you. I wonder if you could get a snake grabbing tool somewhere. So glad you caught him.
ReplyDeleteThis is a good storey and I love that you used a bread box to carry it. Not such a happy ending for the snake as his lunch won't be so handy anymore.
JB
Oh my!! so much excitement!! I wish I was there to see it.lol
ReplyDeleteIt is amazing how fast they can go without legs.
Great job Rick!!! Well done!
Glad you rid yourself and your chicken coop of that snake! Sounds like it was a bit touch and go for a while there..glad it worked out the way it did! Don't they have traps for snakes that might be a bit safer to use? Sounds risky the way you did it.
ReplyDeleteI once captured a swamp snake to prove to my brothers I was tough enough to tag along with them. Carried it around by the tail to impress my sisters. I had no idea if it was friendly or venomous, but I made a pet of it. We lived in the Pacific Northwest, so chances are it was safe, but when it escaped from the makeshift terrarium I made for it in the back yard, the neighbor kids, newly arrived from the South, crushed it with a rock. I pretended to be upset, but was secretly glad to be rid of the pretense.
ReplyDelete