The American Beagler Forum

I have been training pups pretty steady for folks and in the past 3 days have seen 2 giant black snakes.I never kill them but I had to kill these because I know why rthey were in there.Does any one else have this problem??

Got these out of my pen.

Don't know how big your pen is, but if snakes are outside and you don't want them inside, sprinkle moth balls mixed with human hair swept up from the barbers around the outside fence and none will come in.

There are no good snakes in my training pen. Rabbits are at a premium and all snakes will bite dogs and people as well as eat baby rabbits. It is a bad day for sneaky snake when I find him. Be it six inches or six feet long, a snake is a snake.

put a bucket or barrel inside with a hole in each side a little smaller then a egg,put a few eggs in the bucket,when the snake eats the eggs it cant get back thru the hole

My little patch pup Gidget killed 2 snakes in the 5 acre starting pen, she just wouldn't leave them alone (probably not a good thing if they'd been poison).
A terrier is as good at snake control...

Gary A, is that a little Ford 3000 out by your barn?

No, that is a 1964 Ford 4000 row crop. That when they were still small, about 42 HP. It now has a wide front on it. Here is picture from last summer when I was putting up the pen.

Oh, ok...we picked up a little 3000 wfe on a sale, I think it's a 66-67'

bill huttozac wrote:There are no good snakes in my training pen. Rabbits are at a premium and all snakes will bite dogs and people as well as eat baby rabbits. It is a bad day for sneaky snake when I find him. Be it six inches or six feet long, a snake is a snake.

I didn't know people were still this ignorant. The satatement "a snake is a snake" is almost laughable in its child-like simplicity.

The truth is, different snakes do different things, and educated people realize that ALL snakes are actually quite beneficial.

The snakes depicted in the photographs are rat snakes. These animals keep all kinds of rodents in check, and the fact is mice, rats, squirrels, gophers, etc. are the primary (and preferred) prey animals of most larger snake species. Dispatching venomous snakes around one's home is understandable (though relocation of even these is possible) ... but there is absolutely no reason to dispatch a harmless rat snake, as depicted in the photos. A rat snake snake cannot kill either a dog or a person, and though they might pose a nuissance in their potential to get a small bunny, the flipside is those snakes also got to that very large size by keeping all the pesky mice, rats, squirrels, and gophers in your area in check ... but they won't be able to anymore, now that you have foolishly killed them.

Most farmers I know value snakes a great deal ...

Jack


.

TheLittleBlackBook wrote:

bill huttozac wrote:There are no good snakes in my training pen. Rabbits are at a premium and all snakes will bite dogs and people as well as eat baby rabbits. It is a bad day for sneaky snake when I find him. Be it six inches or six feet long, a snake is a snake.

I didn't know people were still this ignorant. The satatement "a snake is a snake" is almost laughable in its child-like simplicity.

The truth is, different snakes do different things, and educated people realize that ALL snakes are actually quite beneficial.

The snakes depicted in the photographs are rat snakes. These animals keep all kinds of rodents in check, and the fact is mice, rats, squirrels, gophers, etc. are the primary (and preferred) prey animals of most larger snake species. Dispatching venomous snakes around one's home is understandable (though relocation of even these is possible) ... but there is absolutely no reason to dispatch a harmless rat snake, as depicted in the photos. A rat snake snake cannot kill either a dog or a person, and though they might pose a nuissance in their potential to get a small bunny, the flipside is those snakes also got to that very large size by keeping all the pesky mice, rats, squirrels, and gophers in your area in check ... but they won't be able to anymore, now that you have foolishly killed them.

Most farmers I know value snakes a great deal ...

Jack


.

Thanks for your input on snakes but I am well aware of these facts as I grew up farming and my uncle taught me not to kill em but with that being said I have a hard time as it is keeping rabbits in my training pen and the only reason I had to kill these snakes is I couldnt have caught them as they would have attempted to escape into the cover where they coulod remain in the pen and raid rabbit nest.I work pretty hard to have a top notch training preserve and its not going to hold rabbits if I let the critters take over.I will walk right across any snake I see on the outside of my pen but when it comes to threatening my rabbit stock,Im sorry I work to hard to keep it stocked.

i kill every snake I come into contact with. if i see him first,its on! gotta go gotta go

like the way this post has went,,, it shows how different we are as people ,, everybody has their on beliefs and ways of doing things, it doesn't make anyone dumb or stupid just your way of doing things,,, like the dogs we feed, i like black and tan beagles, some like tri colored, blue ticked , patch, lemon and white,,,

Foolishly killed them ? You must be joking I have rat traps or rat poison that will take care of that problem.No snake will be left alive if I run in to it if I see it 1st ,if I dont its RUN FOR THE HILLS .I hate snakes

TheLittleBlackBook wrote:

bill huttozac wrote:There are no good snakes in my training pen. Rabbits are at a premium and all snakes will bite dogs and people as well as eat baby rabbits. It is a bad day for sneaky snake when I find him. Be it six inches or six feet long, a snake is a snake.

I didn't know people were still this ignorant. The satatement "a snake is a snake" is almost laughable in its child-like simplicity.

The truth is, different snakes do different things, and educated people realize that ALL snakes are actually quite beneficial.

The snakes depicted in the photographs are rat snakes. These animals keep all kinds of rodents in check, and the fact is mice, rats, squirrels, gophers, etc. are the primary (and preferred) prey animals of most larger snake species. Dispatching venomous snakes around one's home is understandable (though relocation of even these is possible) ... but there is absolutely no reason to dispatch a harmless rat snake, as depicted in the photos. A rat snake snake cannot kill either a dog or a person, and though they might pose a nuissance in their potential to get a small bunny, the flipside is those snakes also got to that very large size by keeping all the pesky mice, rats, squirrels, and gophers in your area in check ... but they won't be able to anymore, now that you have foolishly killed them.

Most farmers I know value snakes a great deal ...

Jack


.

Jack, your air of superiority amazes me. I hate to break this to you Jack but, I am an EDUCATED person, as well as an EDUCATOR and I am not terribly fond of snakes. I am truly ashamed that you saw fit to call another member of this board ignorant. I also feel that same way about your statement calling a fellow beagler foolish for killing a snake that will eat small mammals as well as rodents. As in most predatory animals, snakes will go for the food that causes them to expend the least amount of energy. A nest of rabbits is pretty easy prey for them. They pose a very low threat for the snake’s safety and are very easy to catch. My personal preference is to leave the snakes alone, unless they pose a threat to my kids, my wife, my dogs, me or my RABBITS. I personally find your statement offensive and arrogant. I believe strongly in letting Mother Nature take care of herself, she does a wonderful job. I also believe that a garter snake that is six inches long and a six foot black snake pose to totally different threats in a running pen. Most of us work hard for what we have and are going to protect what we have. If it was my pen, those snakes would have been gone also.

I agree wholeheartedly with Bill and Chanks! If any snake is threatening the rabbits, it's gone. Also, Mr. Black Book, I had actually considered possibly purchasing your "book of secrets." Alas, I have changed my mind. If your rants on here are any indication of the content of your book, you can keep it. I must say, I was quite unpleasantly surprised by the arrogance displayed in your reply to Bill, who has been of utmost help to me in my introduction to beagling. Simply put, please leave alone those who want to "dispatch" animals that are threatening their rabbit stock.