Do they still make glass eggs....designed just for such critters?

hmmm.... I must to look into that.

I believe the fake eggs are meant to entice the hen to lay there.

We tried that with golf balls but it didn't work.

The odd, or maybe not so odd thing is that the hens only lay in one of three nests? We tried putting golf balls in the other two to see if they would lay in the other nests but they just started to leave them on the ground?

I've longed for chickens and these were given to me on my birthday this year!! so I'm just learning all about chickens and the snakes that want to eat their eggs!!

Hmmmm......Jay, a long time ago.... I was told that the glass egg did wonders on chicken snakes when they crushed the "egg"....all this time I've thought that's what they were designed for! Thanks for gettin' me straight on that

Lee, be sure to keep your shoes on!

It may be shocking news, but did ya'll know it is illegal to kill "ANY" kind of snake? You can only kill them if you are in imminent danger or if they are in your house.

I heard this around here so many times that I decided to call the parks and wildlife dept. to see if it was true.

I had actually posted a photo that I had removed due to finding out that this is true.

It is TRUE! You can't even kill poisonus snakes in your own yard. I must have talked to the folks at the parks and wildlife dept. for 30 minutes, because I was stricken with disbelief. They can actually fine you or even put you in jail.

The final tale I heard around my area that made me decide to call was: A man killed a huge rattlesnake and put the photo of himself and the snake in a local business. A game warden saw it and located him and gave him a huge fine. I really doubted that to be fact. Well, guess what it is a fact that is really true.

You can get a license to kill some snakes, but some are protected and can't even be killed with a license. The rattler in the photo was one with a black velvet tail and they are among the protected ones.


You know there are some crazy laws out there and I personally think this is one of them. I am sure they have their reasons, but I can't imagine coming across a snake and not killing it. I didn't ask about my cats killing them (snicker), I have four and there seem to be no snakes around here. We have 54 acres and have not even seen one this year and only one last year. The cats are kings here.

Charlene

I did not know that! But I wouldn't put much credence into what anyone from Parks & Wildlife say...IMO.... When my aunt died, we brought all her stuff home and had boxes piled high and wide in the garage. She had two storage rooms in Roswell, NM filled to the roof with boxes of antiques and furniture. It was really cold one day, and I went into the garage to get something out of the freezer. I bumped into a stack of boxes and heard "rattling" sound. Husband was out of town and I was scared we'd brought a snake home from NM. I called the neighbor down the street who likes guns.... He came up, but didn't go into the garage. He decided it probably had to be a snake...but he thought it got into the garage to hibernate when the weather turned cool. I had a long pole and I tapped the stack of boxes...and rattle, rattle! Yep, a snake...and he went home. So I called Parks & Wildlife the next morning. After being handed off to a few people, some guy asked me to describe the sound I was hearing. So, I made the noise as best I could. He was sure it was a rattler and that I should ''stay out of the garage until spring when it warmed up and the snake would just go out on it's own." Gosh...that's just what I wanted to hear!

So for quite a while, I only went into the garage when husband was home, and then only with the garage door all the way up (for fast get-away). We both could still hear the rattling every once in a while. And I would leave the garage door open as much as possible to let the dang thing out when it was ready. Husband would periodically look for it, but not much.... Then one spring day, I bravely started moving those boxes around. On top of one stack of boxes was a thick plastic plate. I picked it up...and... it rattled. It was a microwave turn-table. It had a timer under the plate and when I tapped it, it would rotate around the "teeth" on the timer...and rattle.... My rattle snake was a microwave turntable.....

Love your story Bubbles!

I agree, that sounds like a crazy law... impossible to enforce and probably there just to use as they see fit whenever they want to?

I'm very sceptical of the Parks & Wildlife! We recently had an incident where stray bullets flew very close to me on our property and ricocheted off a tree, flew over the house and then flew passed hubby and company in the backyard!!!! I could hear the bullet whiz by me and then ping through the trees!!We have a back field where we had seen a couple of deer just shortly before the shots flew by so thought someone, possibly kids, may have been shooting at them..... To make a long story short, we called the Parks and Wildlife department to advise them of the situation, as this was NOT deer hunting season! It took them over a month to get back with us???

My cat is a King around here too
Although we have been seeing quite a few snakes around here which is probably do to with our wet spring & we have a pond and a nearby creek... could be a number of things... chicken eggs!! LOL!

Sandi,
The parks and wildlife man that I spoke to told me exactly what he said to you. If you find a snake, leave him alone and he will leave. REALLY now! He did say that you could kill him if he was in the house though. I don't know if your garage would be considered legally "in your house".

I know for sure that the law is mostly not possible to enforce. I suppose that the secret is to not put a picture of the kill where it can be seen.

Sometimes, it seems that the rulers of our society look out for the wrong things. They often lock up the wrong people and release the wrong people from prison. I know that all in all it is still the best system in the world, but REALLY some change would make it a bit better.

wildflowers....near Austin, a small boy was killed by a stray bullet while in his yard a few yrs ago. A neighbor was target shooting in his backyard and the bullet missed the target. I think you were very fortunate not to have been hit. I'd have had a game warden on speed dial until someone came out if that had been me.

Charlene...It's funny to me now, but at the time, not so much. Husband was traveling a lot and I was afraid to open the door from the house to the garage for fear snake would come in...or I'd step on it. It would be bitter cold and I'd go around to the outside and open the big garage door, then sprint to the frig and back out. After I found the turntable, I thought about calling them back...but I had been passed to so many people, I wasn't sure who I'd spoken to last.... No one would have cared anyway...just some nut calling who'd mistaken a microwave turntable for a rattlesnake...

Sandi,....you're a hoot! Love your stories!

As far as killin' snakes....well,.....IF.... some "official whatever"... came to address my claim to have killed a snake.....I'd have to remind him of the sport of B S......you know,.....kinda like the story of my ol' friend,..."Booger Lee"...the story he used to avoid "loss of finances".
He claims that..... he was fishin' on the banks of Lake Livingston one spring mornin'........having succeeded in landing numerous Bass...keeping them in a large wash tub...with some water to keep them alive,......suddenly a Game Warden appeared...as though from nowhere.....and asked BLee "was he havin' any luck?" ,...as he peered down into the tub. Before BL could reply,...the GW exclaimed that Booger...." must have 20-25 bass in the tub"......Booger (knowing the limit was considerably less)... immediately replied......"24 to be exact....and I was about to take them home...... they just finished their rehearsal and they were tired". The GW,... being a bit baffled,....asked,...."what are you talkin' about?" ....to which Booger explained that... "these were his own Trained Bass and that they performed several tricks...."Tail Walking".... "Pond Leaping"..and others.......then said,...."let me show you"....walked over and tipped the tub over....pouring all the contents back into the lake..... After a moment,...the Game Warden asked....."when do the fish start?" Booger replied....."what fish?"

BTW - Dee "removed" another mature Copperhead yesterday evening after raking it out a flower bed! We must be in Copperhead nirvana

That's a funny story! I'll have to remember it....in case they ever find where the "farm" is where we take the raccoons.

We were at a wedding in Feb. and this couple at our table were telling a story abut a skunk getting into their brand new house. It was an awful mess. We started telling them about thinning our raccoon population. Luckily, we didn't mention where we used to dump 'em. After dinner, they told us where they bought their new home.... it was where there used to be no houses or people or roads. Now it's a subdivision. And where the "farm" was. I was sooooo close to blabbing where we had been going, too.

I read that sentence about the copperhead, and got goose bumps. I've been out cutting lantana and salvia back, sticking my hands way into the beds. Can't get a rake in any of them 'cause they're planted so tightly. Can't you spray snake repellent? Our neighbors at the lake used to spray it on Friday nights when they drove in. We would smell it until we left on Sunday evening. 'But they never had snakes...that we knew of...while they lived there.

LOL I have enjoyed reading everyones snake stories. I have several and I be darn if I'm going to take time to figure out if a snake is deadly or what. I'm going to stick to my routine, if it's in my space, it's gotta GO one way or another. If God would have wanted that snake to live, he would not have sent it to me to step on, or get close to. LOL sorry but that's my story and I'm sticking to it.

Marian

I e-mailed Parks and Wildlife about killing snakes and this was their response.

"A landowner or landowner's agent may kill any nongame wildlife other than protected birds and threatened or endangered species at any time in any number, provided the wildlife is not used in a commercial activity. The commercial nongame regulations in their entirety are located at:

Commercial Nongame Regulations
http://info.sos.state.tx.us/pl...

Please note that different possession limits apply depending upon whether a species of snake is legal for commercial activity or not. Species legal for commercial activity may be possessed in quantities of up to 25 without a nongame permit or nongame dealer's permit. Species not legal for commercial activity may be possessed in quantities of up to 6 without a nongame permit or nongame dealer's permit. Nongame permits may be purchased at license counters across the state, and allow for the collection of nongame wildlife and sale to nongame dealers. Nongame dealer permits are obtained through the Wildlife Permits Office at TPWD and allow for the collection and sale of nongame wildlife to anyone. A hunting license is additionally required in order to legally take nongame wildlife from the wild."

We've never used the snake repellent.....I've seen it for sale here & there but was sceptical.

Thanks, Jay for checkin' on that....I consider killin' poisonous snakes as a "non-game" activity

Jay, thanks for verification. It's good to have it in black and white....but....I bet if someone called P&W Monday and asked about this, they'd still get the run-around version.
If Dee keeps this up, she'll have enough for a new pair of snake skin shoes, and belts for everyone for Xmas presents.....(limit 25). I don't know if snake repellent works....but it sure repelled the rest of us on the street!

Thanks for the info, Jay. It's good to know what the rules are in writing!

It makes me wonder how many of the game-wardens themselves have a clear understanding of the laws surrounding snakes and/or other nongame wildlife....

It's like asking at different post offices how much they charge for mailing certain things...you get different answers! The postal rates are similar to IRS rules now...nobody really knows for sure about some things because they made it so confusing.

LOL AMEN to what Linda said!