I didn't make it to the farm when they were there. After all it was mostly trees, wood, tires - no big deal. Until I got a photo by phone of a 4-ft long corn snake that came out from under the old fallen tree that was rotting in the pasture. Well it was dead in the photo. Killed by a shovel. Brave boys.
It was the third snake we had seen. The first was in the barn when it was being cleaned out. Big Fat Black Thing. The rubbish guys were in a hubub until they were sure they had, at least, scared IT away. I wasn't surprised. Beth, Kathi and Jim and found its shedded skin one afternoon when exploring the barn. I overhead them discussing whether to tell me or not. But Uncle Clem had warned me about a big black chicken snake he had seen -- at least six feet long. then there was the day that Gabriel and I were cutting brush. He was up in the tree pushing on the dead trunk when the snake slithered out. That's the day I was glad I bought a machete - don't go into the brush without it! TOWANDA!!!!!
Definition of Chicken snake 1. The chicken snake is not actually a real species of snake, it is a colloquial term given to a number of different snakes which often frequent farms and barns, usually looking for rodent prey, but sometimes will also consume chicken eggs and young chicks. The species which the term "chicken snake" refers to varies by geographic location, but typically it is the rat snakes, of the genus Pantherophis which are labelled as such. In Texas it is usually the Texas rat snake (Pantherophis obsoletus lindheimeri), in the southeast it is often the black rat snake (Pantherophis obsoletus obsoletus), in the Midwestern United States it is the fox snake (Pantherophis vulpina or Pantherophis gloydi), and in Central and South America it is the tiger rat snake (Spilotes pullatus). Almost any other snake that isn't considered to be a rattlesnake or cottonmouth on a farm property is often referred to as a "chicken snake".
It was the third snake we had seen. The first was in the barn when it was being cleaned out. Big Fat Black Thing. The rubbish guys were in a hubub until they were sure they had, at least, scared IT away. I wasn't surprised. Beth, Kathi and Jim and found its shedded skin one afternoon when exploring the barn. I overhead them discussing whether to tell me or not. But Uncle Clem had warned me about a big black chicken snake he had seen -- at least six feet long. then there was the day that Gabriel and I were cutting brush. He was up in the tree pushing on the dead trunk when the snake slithered out. That's the day I was glad I bought a machete - don't go into the brush without it! TOWANDA!!!!!
Definition of Chicken snake 1. The chicken snake is not actually a real species of snake, it is a colloquial term given to a number of different snakes which often frequent farms and barns, usually looking for rodent prey, but sometimes will also consume chicken eggs and young chicks. The species which the term "chicken snake" refers to varies by geographic location, but typically it is the rat snakes, of the genus Pantherophis which are labelled as such. In Texas it is usually the Texas rat snake (Pantherophis obsoletus lindheimeri), in the southeast it is often the black rat snake (Pantherophis obsoletus obsoletus), in the Midwestern United States it is the fox snake (Pantherophis vulpina or Pantherophis gloydi), and in Central and South America it is the tiger rat snake (Spilotes pullatus). Almost any other snake that isn't considered to be a rattlesnake or cottonmouth on a farm property is often referred to as a "chicken snake".