I let the grass get thigh high and a rattlesnake moved into the chicken pen and returned to this particular spot under the water dispenser every night. The wide flat head told me what it was and its return to the same spot nightly told me it was not just passing through. I had let the grass get too tall. It was a problem i had to handle. It took 6 hours with a battery powered push mower in the blistering heat of midday, but, i was going to get it done. That weekend i mowed everything razor short and the snake did not return. my neighbor said if you make enough noise and commotion the snakes hate it.
There was a round 2 once a few of the batteries recharged and i finished up in the dog run.
I did call my neighbor to see if he could come shoot the rattlesnake just because it was in the chicken pen within centimeters of a chicken (olive, not the sharpest tool in the shed, bless her). He couldnt make it that particular night as he was dealing with his own family emergency but he did promise to teach me how to shoot something that would take care of snakes and raccoons. Im a big believer that you dont let the government or salesmen teach you anything. I’d rather learn from someone i trust before hand. I like to live in harmony with rather than against nature but it would be nice to have some way to intervene if a chicken was directly in trouble.
Then it rained, so of course its now almost time to mow again.