One of the larger species of rattlesnake common to the arid Southwest United States. From the sheer standpoint of size it ranks as one of the world's largest and most dangerous snakes. The diamondback primarily feeds on small rodents, rabbits, birds, and almost anything alive that can be swallowed whole. The loud buzzing rattler sound coupled with a high rising and very threatening coil is usually ample identification information for those in the field. They are largely defensive and tend to stand their ground if provoked.A rattlesnake is classified as having hemotoxic venom that attacks the blood system of its prey.These serpents should be considered armed and dangerous with a well-developed fang and poison delivery system.
Snake description copied from this site.
Apparently they like chickens. He wasn't nearly as interested in the eggs as he was our smaller chickens. He had every intention of taking one out and, I suppose, devouring it. Grayson stumbled across him when he went out to collect eggs. There he laid curled up under the grid floor of the coop. He was coiled ready to strike at every passing chicken and with every thud of the coop floor. Since my shot is still not that great I feared if I tried getting him in the small opening from which his head protruded that the bullet would ricochet off the tin and come back to haunt me. And the spray of a shotgun would definitely not work. Shooting him through the metal grid was no good either since I feared the bullets there would pop back up at us. So, I called Brad and told him our tale. Of course, he is on the last 24 of a 72 hour shift since his 24 consisted of overtime. Seems that he is never here when the good stuff starts to roll. He happened to be wrestling a patient when I continued to call over and again so it took more than a few times to get through to him. Since no one was home that we could run to he put a call in to a fellow city council member and she and her husband came to our aid. Armed with a big barreled shotgun, much to the children's delight, we got to do some snake hunting. About the time they arrived the snake made his way under the covered floor portion of the coop. The little ones were all instructed to stay out of the pasture while Grayson, shotgun couple and I all circled round trying to hunt it down. Perfectly timed, shotgun man made his way around the back and the snake started his journey out from under the coop. His body just kept coming. Shotgun blasts filled the quiet air as a perfectly aimed bullet blew his head up. He still wiggled and continued slithering out from his hiding place so another blast rocketed through the air. The little children gathered with Evye, who now were all swinging on the gate at the front of the pasture, all clapped and cheered in their excitement. We drug the rest of him out with a hoe and then shotgun man asked where to deposit his still moving body. Knowing that dear gun loving husband would want to see him I instructed for him to hang it over the back fence. In his still nasty moving state he wiggled off the fence. Shotgun man's wife, now highly concerned for the children's safety, said more than once that she was not convinced it was dead just yet. He asked if we'd like his head just shot the rest of the way off to which she replied for everyone affirmatively. With that another huge "boom" shook the town and then the last "boom" vibrated the earth as he shot off the rest of his head. Younger children still swung from the gates and fences applauding their neighbor-now-turned-hero. Shotgun man and his wife left and the little ones were all allowed in to get a good look at the now pretty much headless snake. Grayson quickly went to work cutting off his rattles as a souvenir. Official results came in at 3 ft 1 inch long with a total of 7 rattles.
So, instead of our dear stupid chickens keeping them away like we had hoped they are now attracting them?????
I've now lost count at how many we have crossed paths with since being here. We're going on about 10 or so now in 2 years. A few weeks ago the gas guys were doing some work on a line in the field next door and heard a rather large one under the house across the way. All guys were called out to dig as well as Brad being asked to aid in their efforts of tracking it down. It burrowed under the house and was never found. Perhaps we found him today?
1 comments:
Way to creepy for me!
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