Snake.

[jdmidwest]

Busy week at the farm this week. Dad walked out of the basement into the carport to feed, came back thru 20 minutes later to find a 3' rattler coiled up by the door to one side. He may have passed by it by either feet or inches.

The day before, 3 grown rabbits were found dead in the rabbit pen. 1 more had a swollen jaw, another a swollen hind leg. I am thinking a rattler was working around the pen, the 2 that survived had received dry strikes. 2 years ago, there were 5 rattlesnakes caught in the same pen, its an open pen of about a half acre surrounded by chicken wire mesh. One had his head stuck in the wire, the others had made it in.

Today, after working my bees, I was stacking excess hive components from 2 hives that had died into an storage area. I just happened to look up on a shelf and saw a nice little 2' copperhead coiled up and looking at me in the eye a few feet away.

This summer has been a wet one, and the farm is greener than I have ever saw it in July. But, after the rattler, Dad has been bushhoggin, weedeating, and spraying roundup like crazy.

[fishinwrench]

I've heard of more rattlesnake sightings during this one season than I have in my whole life combined.

My in-laws have had a Scorpion problem at their place for 16 years, but this year the scorpions are mysteriously gone......but now they have rattlesnakes!

[brother dave]

you guys ain't kidding about it seems like more snakes.

dad and I found a very fresh dead timber rattler on the big sandbar just sou thof the daniel boone bridge, missouri river. out looked a though a bird of prey had a hold of it, the sticky blood and no flies made me think it was fresh.

[jtram]

I frickin' hate snakes, but have to say since spring I have seen very few. Did blindly grab one while digging in a clogged baler, I nearly lost it, yuck.

[Blazerman]

Yesterday, after work, i ran down to my river place to cut the grass. When i opened up the garage to back out my mower i found this copperhead coiled up just inside the door like it had been laying against the door on the inside. And he was aggravated that i had disturbed him. I don't really have a problem with most snakes but a copperhead is on my list of not wanted along with any other venomous snake. So I took a shovel and cut off his head.

This is the second copperhead i have seen at my place so now i am wondering if i should be concerned about running into more of them? Do the form family units and have territories?

[fishinwrench]

They all have mommy's and daddy's, brothers and sisters.

I have one here somewhere that got my dog a month or so ago, judging by the bite mark it is a biggun.

[oneshot]

Always get a laugh about some saying Rattlers in Missouri are rare. Had a place in Belair,MO, loaded with Rattlers and place in Lead Mine much worse.

oneshot

[jdmidwest]

Copperheads are usually found in pairs based on my findings. I don't think they are social or pack critters. Just random luck, you see one, you look sharper from then on, and find others. They have pretty good camo.

[Mac's Orphan]

I don't take my bird dog out of her kennel until it starts getting cold.

There does seem to be a lot moving about here as well; not only the pit vipers but black snakes, chicken snakes, etc...

[MarkinKC]

I'm used to reading about a few rattlers in the southern part of the state, but we've begun finding them up here in the KC area. Last summer we had a 4 footer next to my mower trailer in Smithville, MO which is north of Kansas City. Brother-in-law killed two of them just days apart near an outbuilding in KC City limits near Liberty, MO. Wish you all would have kept them down south.