Re: Rattlesnakes
This message is from: Melinda Springs <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > -- > > Date: Thu, 23 Sep 2004 10:41:24 -0500 > From: "Brad & Kelly Baird" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > Subject: Rattlesnakes, etc. > > This message is from: "Brad & Kelly Baird" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > I'm amazed at the stories I'm hearing, but I'll take them as evidence that > our menagerie approach works. > And the peacocks . . . I'm not sure what the peacocks actually do, but > they're pretty and I wanted them, and now my wife says she likes them after > all. I've been told that you won't have rattlesnakes in your compound if you have peafowl. We tried it on our ranch in eastern Oregon and we never had a rattlesnake appear while the peafowl resided with us. Another method was told to me by a friend of mine. Her grandfather lived in snake country somewhere in Wyoming. The family had no indoor plumbing so had to go out to the "privy" in the back yard. Grandpa would go out first thing in the morning with a big dish of milk. The milk attracted the rattlers which he would then dispatch so the family could safely go to the privy!! Love this foklore. Melinda Springs "Sunny" Sun Valley, Idaho where snow is starting to appear on our peaks
Rattlesnakes, etc.
This message is from: "Brad & Kelly Baird" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> I'm amazed at the stories I'm hearing, but I'll take them as evidence that our menagerie approach works. Our cattle provide milk to pay for the place, and keep the pastures clipped and fertilized. The horses (at least in theory) help with the farm work, and eat fallen apples and thistleheads. The dogs keep the coyotes away. The cats keep the mice at bay (and apparently the rattlers). The chickens break apart the manure. The guineas keep the bugs under control. The pig cleans up after everyone else. And the peacocks . . . I'm not sure what the peacocks actually do, but they're pretty and I wanted them, and now my wife says she likes them after all. We don't have any Llamas yet! But, counting all the critters we do have, we're up to somewhere around 120 pets! But that's really not that bad. With 10 kids, we're really only averaging 10 pets per capita. If the kids ever complain about helping with chores, I suggest that we could always move to a condominium in Manhattan. They do chores. Brad, in Wisconsin.
RE: rattlesnakes
This message is from: "Karen Keith" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Jean: I guess it all depends on what you're accustomed to. I grew up in Florida, home of the Eastern diamondback rattler and water mocassins. You knew where they'd likely be and either avoided those areas or moved about carefully. Alaska may not have snakes, but you've got some big honkin' bears! Yikes, bears, that's my bug-a-boo! :^O Cheers! Karen I am so glad we don't have snakes up here in Alaska! _ Discover how everyone & everything in our world's connected: http://www.onebigvillage.com.au?&obv1=hotmail
Re: RATTLESNAKES
This message is from: Amy Goodloe <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> At 9:22 PM -0400 9/21/04, [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Guineas and cats help keep the snakes away. Yes, except they both attract coyotes, which then means you have to get guard donkeys or llamas, so your peaceful little farm quickly becomes a zoo! We've had better luck with the cats than the guineas, because the cats were smarter about coming into the shed at night (we lock them in at night). And the cats are smarter about looking over their shoulders during the day, too. The guineas didn't last a week out here. As for keeping bits of rubber hose or other similar objects to keep a horse's nasal passages open, we'd heard about doing that as well, but when the time came that we needed them, there was NO WAY the horse was going to let us shove something up her very tender, very swollen nose. And the very worst thing you can do for a horse (or anything) that's been bitten is make it excited, as that just pumps the venom through the bloodstream faster. According to my vet that's how many horse die of rattlesnake bites, b/c they are bitten and then get excited (either by running around or, in one case, by well meaning neighbors trying to get the horse into a trailer it was afraid of). I suppose the tubes in the nose might work well if you put them in just moments after the horse is bitten, but by the time the swelling sets in, they generally don't want anything around that tender nose. We didn't even try with the second horse that was bitten and just kept her calm until the vet arrived. (Thankfully, she was calm by nature.) --Amy
rattlesnakes
This message is from: Jean Ernest <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> When I lived in the foothills outside of Fort Collins, Colorado (attending CSU) I killed a rattlesnake in the dog pen right behind the house. My husky pup was warily watching it, afraid to come to the gate, as the snake was there. I grabbed a hoe and chopped it up. Smart pup! My older husky got bit in his eyebrow on a walk up the hill behind my cabin..rushed him to the vet. His head swelled up but he was ok..lip was paralyzed for a couple weeks tho. I am so glad we don't have snakes up here in Alaska! Jean in Fairbanks, Alaska, cool and rainy today, fjords are busy cleaning up the golden aspen leaves in their corral! Jean Ernest Fairbanks, Alaska mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]
Re: RATTLESNAKES
This message is from: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Guineas and cats help keep the snakes away. Jeanie Lambert Texas
Re: Rattlesnakes, electric fence
This message is from: "Nathan Lapp" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> >I'm seriously considering trying some of >Premier's "rope". My sister Hannah said to tell you Premier's rope is the best, she's used it on the cattle pastures for several years. Also, Premier is a good company to work with, she said. Barbara Lyn
Re: Rattlesnakes, electric fence
This message is from: "Jean Gayle" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Just a note, when using wire for your electric fencing, cut it in thirty to forty foot sections. Smaller if you want. Makes for lots of joinings but when a horse gets tangled in it they don't run off trailing a hundred or so feet of it. I use tweezer nose pliers to curl all the ends so no eyes get poked. Jean Gayle Aberdeen, WA [Authoress of "The Colonel's Daughter" ] http://www.techline.com/~jgayle -Original Message- From: Marsha Jo Hannah <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Cc: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Date: Sunday, June 13, 1999 7:13 PM Subject: Rattlesnakes, electric fence >This message is from: Marsha Jo Hannah <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > >> "Knutsen Fjord Farm" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: >
Rattlesnakes, electric fence
This message is from: Marsha Jo Hannah <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > "Knutsen Fjord Farm" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > what about rattlesnakes. [...] I haven't been up in the hills > around our new place yet, but some of the trails harbor a significant > # of rattlers. Anyone have any suggestions about horse and dog safety > in rattler country? The vet doesn't seem to think it's a problem. Ask around locally. Here in coastal California, the rattlesnakes are small and shy---they'd just as soon not bother anyone who leaves them alone. Animals most at risk are curious cats and small nosy dogs. However, in New Mexico (where I grew up), the rattlesnakes were reputed to be large and grumpy---definitely a risk to any livestock that blundered into them. I.e. YMMV > what model fence charger produces the most bang for your buck? And > with what kind of wire? I mostly use solar-powered Parmac chargers. Solar because the barn is far beyond the end of the power line, and Parmac because they're easy to order from various catalogs (e.g. American Livestock Supply, 800-356-0700). Did you get the catalog from Premier Sheep Supplies (800-282-6631)? It's worth getting and reading, just for an education on electric fencing. They offer good prices on very visable fencing tape and "rope", as well as chargers, and give interesting comparisons on ease of installation and how long each of the products typically lasts. (There are sections in the catalog for sheep, cattle, horses, as well as specialty uses like fencing out deer or predators. Lots of good info!) I briefly used poly-twine---hate it, as the animals can't see it, and neither can I. I've got a lot of fencing tape (5/8", orange or yellow, from Baygard---I prefer the yellow, for visibility), which works well for temporary fencing, such as pasture rotations, strip grazing, etc. However, in permanent installations (to keep the Fjords back from existing barbed wire fences), it tends to "wear thru" at the insulators when the wind whips it around a lot, so I've replaced it with plain galvanized wire. I'm seriously considering trying some of Premier's "rope". Marsha Jo HannahMurphy must have been a horseman-- [EMAIL PROTECTED] anything that can go wrong, will! 30 mi SSE of San Francisco, Calif. ---
