# Rattlesnake Question



## bjtillman (Sep 5, 2010)

Found a dog dead in my running pen.  Buzzards had gotten in it pretty good when the dog was found.  Someone told me that he didn't die from a rattlesnake because the buzzards would not have eaten it if it was bitten by a rattlesnake.  Does anybody know for a fact this is true or have you ever heard of this before?  I have heard it before but would really like to know as this is the first dog we have lost in the pen this year.


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## Nicodemus (Sep 5, 2010)

Buzzards would not know, nor care how it died. They would eat it anyway. How long had it been since the pen had been checked?


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## bjtillman (Sep 5, 2010)

It was some young hounds I was starting.  It is a 110 acre pen.  I got 3 of the dogs up last night and the dead one was found last night.  He had not starting stinking so he couldn't have been dead more than 24 hours I don't think.  This friend told me buzzards could tell whether the carcass was from a venomous snake or not.  He said he had a young calf bitten before that the buzzard would not eat and lost another one a few weeks later from other causes that they cleaned up.


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## thomas gose (Sep 5, 2010)

i dont beleive ingesting snake toxins would be any worse on a buzzard than the rotted bacteria infested flesh from a dead animal. besides ingesting it is diff than having it shot into your blood stream. it may have been a snake and the buzzards hadnt found the dog yet. i have never heard of a buzzard being able to tell the diff in a snake bit kill or a road kill either!


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## bjtillman (Sep 6, 2010)

The buzzards had found the dog.  In fact that is how we found the dog today was by the buzzards.  If there is any fact to this the venom would have to do something to the body tissue to make it unattractive as far as smell or taster.  I am like you it seems to me the buzzards would eat it regardless.


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## Nicodemus (Sep 6, 2010)

bjtillman said:


> The buzzards had found the dog.  In fact that is how we found the dog today was by the buzzards.  If there is any fact to this the venom would have to do something to the body tissue to make it unattractive as far as smell or taster.  I am like you it seems to me the buzzards would eat it regardless.





Buzzards would eat it if it was slam full of rattlesnake venom. It wouldn`t matter to them.


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## Coon Doggie (Sep 6, 2010)

We went down to visit family last night down in Dudley Ga. Someone had killed a big rattler and hung him over a road sign, a buzzard was sitting on top of sign eating the rattler when we road by. I have seen a buzzard eat a dead rattler on other occasions


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## thurmongene (Sep 6, 2010)

O My Heavens,!! where are all these snakes cumming from this year?   I've not heard of so many in years past.


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## olcowman (Sep 6, 2010)

Coon Doggie said:


> We went down to visit family last night down in Dudley Ga. Someone had killed a big rattler and hung him over a road sign, a buzzard was sitting on top of sign eating the rattler when we road by. I have seen a buzzard eat a dead rattler on other occasions



You beat me to it, I have seen them chow down on some rattlesnake. Buzzards ain't real particular about what they eat and if they can stomach rotted, bacteria infested, fly crawling armadillo meat, I figure a little rattlesnake venom is like desert to them.

I caught one of them kyarny devils in a leg hold trap one time and when I walk up on it, it hauled off and projectile puked on me. Lawd have mercy I thought I was going to die, I throwed the coat and shirt away right there and I don't care how much lye soap, baking powder, turpentine, lemon juice, epsom salts, and a few other remedies I can't remember, it took me a couple of weeks before I finally quit smelling that stuff on me. I gave that buzzard that trap to keep and ain't messed with one since. I ain't 100% sure about a buzzard's diet but I can tell you I think a dead buzzard is pretty safe from being scavenged upon!


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## Daddy Rabbit Kennels (Sep 6, 2010)

*Rabbit Track Everwhere````````````````````````````````````````` ```````````````>*



B.J.

Please Tell Me it was not on off The Four Red Pups??

D.R.~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~>


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## Hooked On Quack (Sep 6, 2010)

I do know this, a buzzard WILL not eat a animal poisoned with Timik.


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## Nicodemus (Sep 6, 2010)

Hooked On Quack said:


> I do know this, a buzzard WILL not eat a animal poisoned with Timik.



A bald eagle will though. But, an eagle doesn`t have a sense of smell like a buzzard does.


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## sleepindawg (Sep 6, 2010)

Tillman, I take it you haven't found you a snake-baying dog yet.  Maybe somebody on this forum could help you find one...or maybe a pack.  I think one dog might run himself crazy trying to keep 'em all bayed.  Sorry bout the hound.


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## mlandrum (Sep 6, 2010)

Fact #1- No one knows how the dog died??   Fact#2- Could've been  trying to keep up with a Blue-Dog and it run itself to death??  Fact#3-Being a small Tri the rabbit could've killed it??  Fact#4- The dog is dead and the Buzzards were'nt hungry


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## bjtillman (Sep 6, 2010)

Fact 1-It was a blue dog!Fact 2-This eliminates the possibility of it running itself to deathFact 3-This means buzzards will eat anything if they will eat a blue dogFact 4-If the dog died of snake bite it could not have been in a briar patch because the dog was blue


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## mlandrum (Sep 6, 2010)

Now the truth---That's some QUICK thinkin for two ole Buzzards


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## bjtillman (Sep 6, 2010)

I could see buzzards eating a rattlesnake because the snake tissue has not been affected with snake bite like a dog's would be. It is not like the snake's body is venomous.  A dog's tissue around the bite itself will rot out if the animal doesn't die so it seems it could have an affect on all of a dog's tissue if it did die which could possibly do something so that a buzzard with it's keen sense of smell would lay of.  I wonder if there has ever been any research on this anywhere.


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## canepatch (Sep 6, 2010)

Thanks Mr. Tillman for setting the record straight for the Preacherman is not very savvy when it comes to discerning facts from fiction.  If he was those old speckled up dogs would not be in his pen.  I did see a wild hog actually rot in the highway median last year, the buzzards never ate it.  Figure that one out.


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## mlandrum (Sep 6, 2010)

Why Mr. CanePatch, that's not hard to figure out, Simply the Buzzards did not feel like Piggin Out


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## germag (Sep 6, 2010)

Rattlenake venom is a _venom_, not a stomach poison. It is mostly proteolytic enzymes. You can drink it and it won't hurt you (won't help you either). As Nic said, a buzzard doesn't know or care if an animal died from snakebite or not, it won't hurt the buzzard to eat it. A buzzard will eat an animal that has been snake bitten, same as if it had been shot or hit my a car or just died of old age.


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## mlandrum (Sep 6, 2010)

Well mr. BJ there you go!!!!!!!!!


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## luvtohunt (Sep 6, 2010)

I don't know if it will or not, but I do know I had one die from a snake bite and they never touched him, because where he died at was a place you could ride by and see and his carcass laid there and rotted away, in the woods none the less


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## germag (Sep 6, 2010)

Buzzards don't eat every carcass of every animal that dies.


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## bjtillman (Sep 6, 2010)

Thank you sir!!  I was kinda leaning that way all the time just hoping what I heard was true.  I couldn't figure anything else it could be.


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## bjtillman (Sep 6, 2010)

I don't know if I agree with you or not on buzzards not eating everything.  They seem to around here!!!


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## bjtillman (Sep 6, 2010)

sleepindawg said:


> Tillman, I take it you haven't found you a snake-baying dog yet.  Maybe somebody on this forum could help you find one...or maybe a pack.  I think one dog might run himself crazy trying to keep 'em all bayed.  Sorry bout the hound.


I haven't found one yet but still looking.  I talked to a man in Tennessee that was advertising some feist puppies and he said the daddy would hunt them and bay them but he had already sold him.  He trained him with a black snake.


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## sawdog (Sep 9, 2010)

bjtillman said:


> Someone told me that he didn't die from a rattlesnake because the buzzards would not have eaten it if it was bitten by a rattlesnake.  Does anybody know for a fact this is true or have you ever heard of this before?  I have heard it before but would really like to know as this is the first dog we have lost in the pen this year.


Never heard that before.


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## george cochran (Sep 9, 2010)

yes it will


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## mlandrum (Sep 9, 2010)

Yal done got too deep for me!!!!!!!!


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## dawg2 (Sep 10, 2010)

bjtillman said:


> Found a dog dead in my running pen.  Buzzards had gotten in it pretty good when the dog was found.  Someone told me that he didn't die from a rattlesnake because the buzzards would not have eaten it if it was bitten by a rattlesnake.  Does anybody know for a fact this is true or have you ever heard of this before?  I have heard it before but would really like to know as this is the first dog we have lost in the pen this year.



No, it is not true.  Buzzards will eat a snake-bit animal.  It won't hurt them.


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## bjtillman (Sep 11, 2010)

bjtillman said:


> Found a dog dead in my running pen.  Buzzards had gotten in it pretty good when the dog was found.  Someone told me that he didn't die from a rattlesnake because the buzzards would not have eaten it if it was bitten by a rattlesnake.  Does anybody know for a fact this is true or have you ever heard of this before?  I have heard it before but would really like to know as this is the first dog we have lost in the pen this year.


Talked to Timmy tonight and he said the buzzards eat the dog clean.QUESTION CLOSED


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