Homesteading: A Woman's Journey

Snakes & other stuff

10:36, Thursday, August 17, 2006 .. Posted in Homestead Happenings .. 1 comments .. Link

Last night, on the Tulsa news program, they had an interesting story. A woman in Jenks, OK, found a rattlesnake on her porch. Mind you, this was in town. The news reporter then went on to say that with the heatwave we have had, there are alot of snakes around. According to his research, there is an estimated 11 snakes per 1 acre here in Oklahoma.

I bring this up because I have been given alot of grief by some people who think it cruel that our cats are all outdoor cats. Barn cats is a better term to use here. While I do leave abit of feed and water out for them, I don't give them enough food to satisfy them. This is to encourage them to hunt. When I notice they are not bringing in as many rodents to feed on, or if it is winter, I put out extra feed to make up for the lack of their prey. None of my cats are too thin. They all hunt very well. There has been a side benefit to this.

Because our cats all hunt, we have actually gone through this summer without a single snake sighting on our property. Last summer, before we had the cats, we found snakes all the time. Copperheads & water mocccasin to name just 2 of the varieties that we have here. Most of the snakes around our area are poisonous. I have been thrilled this year that the barn cats have removed so much of the rodents from the barn area and the areas around the house that the snakes have nothing to hunt. What a blessing!

We received all of our cats as kittens through Freecycle. There is always someone giving away cats. I am going to be getting a new batch as soon as I am able to. Of the 3 males that we have, only 1 hasn't been neutered. Our females were all spade by their previous owners. So....to keep the population of cats up, I have to bring in new kittens.

I am hoping that by having all these barncats around, I will not have snake problems in the future also. Especially once we get the other animals in the spring and have sacks of grain and hay at the barn.

Now, if I can find a way to get rid of the armadillos and possums.........

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08:44, Thursday, August 17, 2006 .. Posted by agodlyhomemaker
i'm so glad i found your blog off your link in your email to the group! i'm enjoying it very much. :) it's tami btw from headcovering christians

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