CntryBoy777 - The Lazy A** Acres Adventures

[Pastor Dave]

We have water moccasins here in Indiana and copper heads, but not seen cotton mouths. Used to see them a lot in TN back in early 80's, and real aggressive. I remember being in a little row boat on a 1 acre pond and have the two water species try to get in the boat. Talk about a scramble! We also put out minnow traps that they would swim in and drown. Sometimes we found them before they were dead. That was hairy too! Same pond my sister and I would swim in.

 

[CntryBoy777]

We have water moccasins here in Indiana and copper heads, but not seen cotton mouths. Used to see them a lot in TN back in early 80's, and real aggressive. I remember being in a little row boat on a 1 acre pond and have the two water species try to get in the boat. Talk about a scramble! We also put out minnow traps that they would swim in and drown. Sometimes we found them before they were dead. That was hairy too! Same pond my sister and I would swim in.

A cottonmouth and water moccasin is the same snake, and their curiosity has earned them the reputation of being aggressive, however, they are only truly aggressive during their mating season....which is after their hibernation period, when they form a breeding "Ball" in the water and if there are a number of snakes in the ball, they will churn the water.....it is at this point that they will strike at most anything near them. Being caught in a minnow trap would certainly be a difficult situation to face, sure glad ya didn't get bit, but I would have to put it out of my misery before releasing it...

 

[Pastor Dave]

I have learned something new today. I remember the black snake with white mouth, but really did think the water moccasins was more brown with pattern.
I remember hearing horror stories of folks swimming in the Kentucky Lake and getting into that mating ball of snakes. Horrible way to die! Thanks for the lesson. I used to be up on the animals of North America when studying Conservation Law Enforcement, but we focused on the hunted and more protected animals and must have skimmed over snakes. Haha

 

[CntryBoy777]

@Pastor Dave .....there is a banded water snake that resembles a cottonmouth and is mistaken for one frequently, but it is non-venomous the bands don't reach all the way around on the pattern of the adult, just the hatchlings....they grow out as it sheds and when adult it mimics the cottonmouth for safety from predators. Both eat fish, frogs, lizards, and rodents on the banks of water. Kentucky Lake is very similar to Herber Springs, Arkansas......and I know there was a guy back in the '70's that dove off the cliffs there and there just happened to be a ball where he was heading to and they say he was dead before he hit the water.....he had over 50-60 bites and enough venom to kill around 100 men according to the ME......they hired professional divers to harvest the snakes in the popular cliff diving areas.....they go 120 snakes.

 

[babsbag]

Who in the world would be the diver to harvest snakes? Not me in a million years. Really happy to have none of those snakes in CA. We have the rattlesnake which will on occasion be in the water but they aren't breeding there and there are no balls of snakes. If so I would never swim in a river or lake again.

I use metal cans for feed too, the rats chew right through the plastic ones. I am going through a bag a day of grain right now plus 1/2 bag of alfalfa pellets. It is getting expensive and my back is getting tired. Would like to buy a silo but no mill will deliver to me. Looking into other options such as a trailer and an auger.

 

[CntryBoy777]

@babsbag they won't be out in a flowing river, but along the edge....and if the water temps are below 65° they won't be in the water either....their comfort range is 72-85°.
I have seen trailers here that can be pulled behind a vehicle that has an elevator attachment on the rear in order to load grain in the field into grain trailers to haul to the grains bins. Some will use tractors....other PU trucks. They rely between the combines and trailers to laod them. I have no idea what they are referred to as, but I have seen them.

 

[babsbag]

their comfort range is 72-85°

So is mine.

I have been looking at gravity wagons with an auger attached but they can't be towed on the highway so thinking of ways to mount one on a flat bed trailer.

 

[CntryBoy777]

We started the day with a couple of showers....the temp wasn't bad, but when the sun came out the "Muggy Meter" jumped pretty high. It is suppose to be in the upper 60s by morning and a NNW wind tomorrow with a hi of 84°.....sure hope they ain't Lyin' to us about that.....
The past few days we've had a "Dottie" staying on the nest, so today Joyce set up a separated nest in the other side of the house.....that was planned for the ducks. The ducks seem to do just fine with their present accomidations, so I haven't been in a hurry to work on that yet, and have decided not to anyway. We will use the other half of the house as a brooder. The "Dottie" is setting on 5duck and 7chicken eggs atm......after Joyce got it set up and put the hen in there, it wasn't long before she settled on the eggs.....still have the 2 KC hens setting, but that may end come Sunday or Monday depending on when and amount of rain we get. I believe I'll be working on a different setup for the ducks, but have more pressing issues right now. Hopefully, this little Dottie will be a better momma than the KCs seem to be.....

 

[goatgurl]

all the talk about cotton mouths made me remember a story about my dad. he loved to fish and also liked to night fish with his inner tube floating seat. one dark night he was in a lake not far from home and as he floated along a branch off a tree kept hitting the front of his inner tube. tap, tap, tap, finally he turned his little flashlight on so he could see to move it and there at the front of his tube was a cottonmouth striking the front of his seat. he said his feet never touched the water until he was back on the bank and afraid as he was of snakes I have no doubt that he did 'walk on water' that night.
as far as chickens raising bb ducks my dark Cornish hen did a great job with her ducklings. she raised all 12 up to teenagers. do KC's and chickens have the same incubation period? with the muscovies I can't do half and half because the muscovies take 35 days to hatch. good luck with miss dottie.

 

[CntryBoy777]

Yes @goatgurl they do, and all the eggs placed today were laid today....DD3 took all the eggs we had when she picked up the boys, so that was the count for todays gathering. If she turns out to be a good momma then she'll earn her way to stick around for a while....
I know your dad probably did too!........I know I would've been. I've seen them out pretty thick when I was frog gigging, but that was when I was a much younger man....