We have 2 rabbits... had bunnies, but the bunnies were eaten a few days ago by a huge bull snake. :-( a Tom Cat a very talkitive parakeet several betta fish a Chameleon We are expecting our new chicks on Monday... Buff Orphs, RH Reds, Dominiques, partridge rock, Black Astrolorp, Silver lace and Gold Lace Wyandottes, golden campine and one Speckled Sussex Rooster. We want to find one purple and one coral blue guinea to replace the ones we had. Not only were they the greatest bug catcher in the world, they were quite entertaining too! We also have a fox that lives on government property on the other side of our fence, that paces back and forth near the edge of the pasture, trying to get in. Very unrabbit like...the rabbits thought it is entertaining(and VERY brazen!) to tease the fox, hopping back and forth on the opposite side of the fence! That fox was going insane and I freaked out! This bold behavior promted me to put the mommy bunny in a cage... Daddy bunny loves to be pet, but is too "wild" to put in a cage, he will hurt himself trying to get free. No common sense! We are making the coop and chicken area "ultra Fox free" Any and all ideas welcome! We also have skunks and raccoons around that we are deterring from this area. Now I am worried about the bull snake. I am fine with him being on the property as long as he only eats mice and rattlers and leaves me and my pets(and their off spring) alone!

We live in eastern west virginia and have a lot of different kinds of snakes. I was always taught the only good snake is a dead one, even before moving to the mountains. My nephew killed a three foot timber rattler the other day, but it was in their goat cage. We usually don't kill them unless they are poisonous or threatening us or our animals. A woman that I sell at the local farmers market with was telling us how the rattle snakes in Texas will rattle when you get anywhere close to them, but the ones here don't rattle at all until they are about to strike. My neice was the one that spotted the snake in the goat cage and had to warn my brother in law cause he was about to step on it. The snake never even rattled and they are lucky she spotted it. Ever since that happened I have been on high alert for snakes. They scare me so much, any snake at all. We are really far from a hospital (like 45 - hour), so I never want to take the chance of getting bitten. What would be a good option to keep snakes out of our fenced in area in the yard, where we have dogs and a 7 month year old who likes to play outside? Something that isn't the spray "snake guard" or whatever. It says it only lasts 30 days and is like $50 for a quart.

All I know is that if the Government didn't take my money, from me and spend it on things they invent, I would spend it on me, and maybe put my neighbor to work. If the problem is all the stuff we buy comes from overseas, then look at the why the Government allows unbalanced trade, and also why any American company would have an advantage to move production overseas. It just seems that no matter what the problem, the government can't fix it, because at some level, they created it. OK, the FBI is knocking at my door, gotta go! lol George

Do birds eat the slugs? I have quite a few Carolina wrens here, having raised 3 generations of them in a pig flower pot sitting on my deck railing, hidden from view by a bougainvillea. Those little things police all the hosta pots, and I'm sure that's why I've failed to find a single cutworm or whatever this year.....but I've definitely had leaf damage from the worms. I sure hope they are eating the slugs too. Then of course there are the toads. And then the snakes as well. I'm always cautious about them, since we are in a rather wetlands kind of area where water drains off down toward the lowland into Dog River. That means in extremely hot weather, we might be frequented by moccasins and coral snakes. I try not to keep brush piles very long for that reason. However, the vacant house adjacent to my back yard lovely neighbor has multiple brush piles where all sorts of wildlife lives. Wish I could have a couple of chickens, but do not dare try that again--until my roofwalking neighbor moves or dies. I also love the turtles which motor through the garden on occasion. I have a sturdy watering container...a birdbath w/out a stand...especially for them, and place cantaloupe and watermelon and busted tomatos beneath the pink pirogue for their dining pleasure. Lack of water has seldom been a problem for long this year. We've already had more than 50 inches of rain so far. My DH says that an inch of rain = a foot of snow.....so we'd be in deep trouble if it turned to snow. :)