Buckeyes really catch mice? - Page 2

We have Buckeye among many other breeds..all of my chickens are better mousers than our cat..we have lots of mice with hundreds of chickens and acres of fields..I keep our chickens wormed so not overly worried about that..never had a sick chicken from eating mice..one mouse after a great game of tag and steal no chicken gets very much.

Has anyone seen a buckeye hunt rats?  I live in the city and the fat urban rats have been growing bolder in hanging around the coop in broad date light!  (I move the coop often--they can't get in, but burrow underneath to get food that drops through the hardwire cloth floor.)  I have been thinking about getting a cat to scare the rats off, but I would rather get another chicken!  My flock of three birds (RIR, buff orp, and ameracauna) seem to ignore the rats.  Maybe a buckeye would teach my other girls to hunt vermin. 

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lake Desire 

Has anyone seen a buckeye hunt rats?  I live in the city and the fat urban rats have been growing bolder in hanging around the coop in broad date light!  (I move the coop often--they can't get in, but burrow underneath to get food that drops through the hardwire cloth floor.)  I have been thinking about getting a cat to scare the rats off, but I would rather get another chicken!  My flock of three birds (RIR, buff orp, and ameracauna) seem to ignore the rats.  Maybe a buckeye would teach my other girls to hunt vermin. 

I would think it would depend on the sze of the rats, but if they are anything like as large as our roof rats, no way would I expect a chicken to take them on.  Most cats won't (we are lucky in that both of ours will)--they generally need a ratter dog.  Our JRT will take them on, but they are usually not where she can get to them--they spend most of their time up in trees or bushes.

Didn't know some cats wouldn't go after rats... good to know!  I may just have to set up traps, but I was worried the traps would hurt the chickens (which I suppose is a topic for another thread).

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lake Desire 

Didn't know some cats wouldn't go after rats... good to know!  I may just have to set up traps, but I was worried the traps would hurt the chickens (which I suppose is a topic for another thread).

Use live traps or bait stations with a secondary-poisoning-safe bait such as Just One Bite.