He tried to get away but this 14 year old girl was too fast for him.
It was late and in the dark corner of a chicken coop sat a mama duck on a nest full of eggs. My daughter went in to check on the eggs to see if any were hatching. It has been close to the 28 day incubation period for this clutch of eggs. There on the nest was this huge Texas Rat Snake!
On our farm we don't freak out over nature. We love the balance that nature can bring, but we don't like to let the snakes get free meals of hatching eggs if we can prevent it. Texas Rat Snakes are wonderful at keeping mice and rats in check. When there are lots of rodents the snakes show up. This is nature's way of keeping balance. I love it... however, the Rat Snakes can be a bit lazy too. They love a free eggy snack. They will sometimes slither right up under a sitting hen and take the eggs right from under her. This is what this guy was trying to do with this mama duck.
My daughter loves ducks! She did not want to see this entire clutch of eggs disappear in one evening to one hungry serpent. She reacted quickly (after pausing just long enough to identify the snake as non-venomous) by pinning down his head then gently lifting to support his body weight to carry him out of the coop.
I was in the neighboring coop feeding chickens when I heard "Dad! I caught a snake!". She was both excited and surprised!. I'm so proud of her. She did not fear the reptile and was handling it with respect and care. We looked at him, admiring his beauty while my daughter told her story. Our French exchange student was there to experience the excitement as well.
The event is over so now what? Many would chose to kill the snake. In the past, when we didn't know any better, we eliminated a few ourselves, but now we like to try to let them live. We know that relocating them likely means they will be back, but our hopes are that they will find another barn to patrol and stay out of our eggs. My daughter and our French guest jumped in the golf cart to drive him about a quarter mile down the road to let him go.
Bye bye Mr. Texas Rat Snake. Thank you for the good times!
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Way to go and quick thinking daughterkirbs! It is rare that a young lady will even attempt to catch a snake. Even more don't know how to identify them. So glad you were able to catch him and relocate him. Good job @daddykirbs for both teaching your children how to handle this type of situation, and for the great story about doing it so well.
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Thanks @katedansyng ! She did handle herself quite well :)
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That is so cool! I want to go snake hunting too!
He looks so happy! Smiling and all!
Love the way you're thinking with re-locating the snake instead of killing it! You got some beautiful pictures there :)
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Thank you @oysteinholand ! Perhaps someday you can hunt Texas Rat Snakes too LOL
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Such a lovely article! Treating the snake with respect while protecting the duck mama's eggs. Exactly the kinda story I like to read with my morning coffee. :-)
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I do love a good story with my coffee :) Thanks for sharing your coffee time with me!
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Oh, always gladly! :-)
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Good thing she caught him before he had his snack! I would like to include this post in the next issue of the Weekly Homesteading Newsletter which is a series posted every Sunday that aims to help collect awesome articles and resources like this one! This article will be linked and your username featured if you accept - please let me know if it is alright to include your article as soon as possible! Thank you and have a great day!
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I do accept. In fact... if you want, you can feature any of my posts anytime you like without asking permission. With proper attribution of course ;)
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Awesome thank you!
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Hey there! I just wanted to inform you that your article has been included and linked in the most recent issue of the Weekly Homesteading Newsletter! Please check it out if you have the time! Thank you and have a great day!
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Great job relocating this guy! I hope he finds another nice place :)
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We are hoping he finds a barn down the road to live in and keep a healthy diet of rats!
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Great job!!!!! You have some fearless kids!
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Wonderful way to react! I applaud you!
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Hi! I am @montisuraj. Nice Story
I upvoted you, please lock up my post too and dont forget to upvote me
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I'm so glad I followed you on YouTube and now over here. I enjoy your channel so much and the Monday Mix-up's are so fun. I have a very similar view about wildlife on my homestead. Live and let live, unless you mess with me or mine. I have a pair of big king snakes that have lived on the side of my house for a couple years. We have an arrangement, we leave each other alone, lol. I figure they wouldn't stay there if there wasn't food for them to eat. It's a win-win for us both.
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Your daughter's really amazing! 😲 I would have freaked out and ran away. Good for the snake to have stayed alive after all. 😂
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GIRL POWER!!!
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Wow! Same thing happened to us, except we didn't catch our snake yet. Here's an old post describing it:
https://steemit.com/homesteading/@bluerthangreen/hardships-on-the-homestead-egg-thieves-i-smell-a-rat
Good for you that you caught the thief!
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Your daughter is so brave! The snake would have me as a meal if it had been me in your daughters' place! lol :P
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your farm is just filled with life , snakes, turtles, bees .... and now steemit too ! thanks for sharing @daddykirbs
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@daddykirbs,
This gem of a post was discovered by the @OCD Team!
Reply to this comment if you accept, and are willing to let us share your gem of a post! By accepting this, you have a chance to receive extra rewards and one of your photos in this article may be used on our compilation post!
You can follow @ocd – learn more about the project and see other Gems! We strive for transparency.
Very cool that she was able to catch it! It's nice to let it live too!
Please reply and I will nominate your post to the OCD Team!
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Yes of course :) thank you!
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wonderful thank you! I will nominate you today :-)
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Hope you haven't seen any more snakes! I Mentioned you in my Shiners of the Week Post for your @OCD Nomination, check it out on my profile! Keep posting that great content @daddykirbs!
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Good catch -- and release! Nice, too, that she knew to support the weight of the snake's body. Good luck with your duck eggs!
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Your daughter did a really nice job, she deserves an applaud for saving the eggs
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