Yesterday, while doing some brush hogging, I happened upon two residents of the no-legged variety. Both with obvious triangular (venomous) heads and as the tractor tire hit one he did not hesitate to strike with a very open and fang bearing mouth. They both looked like eastern diamondback rattlers but had no rattles or buttons. My question is when do rattlers develop rattles or buttons? Both snakes were about 18-24 inches in length and pretty thick in diameter. They could be immature and the size threw me as I have a commercial poultry farm and rats and mice are plentiful so they could just be fat young snakes. I am no stranger to all varieties of snakes in South MS but these really have me puzzled. I spoke to my dad who, like me, has spent most of his life outdoors and he said copperhead. I told him that I know what a copperhead looks like and this morning he came to the farm and I showed him the chopped up remains of one and he agrees that it is marked like a rattler but the absence or rattles is confusing. All help is appreciated.