Snakes on a Farm!

This spring and summer there have been numerous snake sightings in and around Hedgerow Farms. There are several species of snakes that have been found here, but more of the snakes being spotted this year are rattlesnakes. Below are some pictures of a variety of snakes found on the farm through the years:

Rattlesnake found on the farm in 2003

Gopher snake found on the farm in 2006

A king snake found on the farm in August of 2010

A rattlesnake found in May of this year digesting a large rat!
(It was roadkill and John opened it up to see what was inside)

Another rattlesnake found in the seed storage barn in June.
In that same week 4 other snakes were spotted, 3 being rattlesnakes.

With large numbers of snakes comes a high probability of bites. Within  a week there were two dogs bit by rattlesnakes on the farm. One snake bite occurred in some grass along a canal right before the fourth of July weekend and the other happened in the outdoor dog kennel right in the yard (no one saw the second snake, we just saw that Rottie, the farm dog, had a very swollen face).  The two days after the second dog was bit two additional rattlesnakes were found.

Rottie, thefarm dog, appeared to have been bit on the lip while in her kennel. She received one round of antivenom and recovered quickly

Darin, a black lab, was bit on the inside of his forearm. He received two doses of antivenom and after two weeks of recovery is back to normal.

We are all being diligent when it comes to being aware of snakes while walking around. There is an abundance of them this year!