DEVASTATED AND EXTEMELY PI**ED OFF!! (Rats)

[MsDejesus1]

Hello everyone,
My name is Yesi and I am brand new to this forum. I found it while searching for solutions to my current problem. Long story short, I have three escaped "pet" hooded rats whom last night attacked one of my baby bantams and ripped its wing off completely!!

I am at a loss for words and have no idea what to do to help the poor thing. I brought him inside and made sure he wast still bleeding. Got him situated and warm. I had to leave to work and I'm beside myself worrying about it.

I'm new to the "chicken mommy" life. My husband and I are from the city and moved a few months ago to a beautiful home in farm country with 2 acres. We purchased our first 6 hen chicks in February and we were successful in keeping them alive and healthy and now enjoy their company and their tasty eggs lol. We then proceeded to get some roosters who have also grown and matured nicely. ( I love to hear them crow). 2 weeks ago I decided to get some silkies and a bantam chick. I bought 3 babies and I've been doing pretty good with them. Up until now.

My son (snake enthusiast) decided that he wants to breed snakes. So he has been working on that project for a few months and came into some rats which he decided to breed for feeders. WELL hes 18 and not ready for that type of commitment. So I started caring for the rats. I REALLY disliked rats but I love all animals and believe in the fair treatment of such. So within a few weeks I got attached to them and couldn't allow them to be used for feeding purposes but am not too fond of owning any rats either.
Yesterday, I re-homed the rats to a great family who LOVES them and wants them as pets. I felt relived to have them gone and proud of myself because they didn't end up being snake food.
WELL..............

when the family picked the rats up, I counted them and realized that 3 have escaped over night and are in my lanai under my outside fridge.
I thought no big deal, Ill catch them and re-home them as well. The family stated that they would pick them up as soon as I caught em.
I didn't pay much mind to it. Feeling accomplished (silly me) I even set up a humane trap last night in hopes of getting them to their "forever home".

WELL..... when I checked the trap this morning at 5:30 am. Its empty. & I notice that my chicks cage seems to be moved. I go to the cage and one of my baby chicks is missing its WHOLE wing, Its completely ripped off!!!

UGH....... I NOW HATE THESE RATS. I'm a super animal lover and don't believe in inhumane practices at all. BUT I cannot have these vermin killing my babies.
I'm lost. I don't know how to help the hurt chick, nor do I know what to do about the rats. Part of me wants to KILL them dead! But I feel guilty for feeling that way.

PLEASE ADVISE.
ALL SUGGESTIONS AND IDEAS ARE WELCOMED.
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[chiques chicks]

Use plain neosporin, not the kind with pain killer in it. If the bleeding stopped and the chick is still alive, I agree, it can survive. Keep clean and treat as any wound, you have an 18yo son, I'm sure you've treated wounds before! Keep warm and calm and offer it the things mentioned above.

 

[torilovessmiles]

So sorry for your loss

If you can keep the chick from going into shock or get it out of it, it can live!
Our family GSD got lose a couple months ago and killed 4 of our babies (two 3 month old white rocks and two seven week old Rouen ducklings) and it was so hard.
You can trap the rats in a humane trap. Rats love peanut butter crackers in my experience, I found that to be good bait. Place the trap in the path of the rats, so against a wall, and they will run right in!
Is your son still breeding the snakes? And what species is he breeding? In my experience with pet snakes, they are escape artists. I had a corn snake that was about 2 feet long that never returned. We had a snake topper on it's tank with the edges taped, I have no idea how it got out! Those guys will eat chicks, too. If you continue to allow him to breed the snakes, make sure he knows how to keep the cages secure.

 

[MsDejesus1]

Keep the chick away from the others, as the little canibals will pick at the wound ...

Looks like a tough little chicky!

Shouldn't have to worry about that one flying the coop!

LOL It def is a fighter that's for sure!! He gladly made it through the night and is doing very well.
I really hope it makes it through. I've grown very attached!
I did separate him from the rest and put a stuffed animal in his box which he snuggles against. I figured it wouldnt feel so alone and that it would also help keep it warm.

 

[MsDejesus1]

Any sign if rats yet?

When I got home yesterday and looked into my lanai one of them was sitting pretty cleaning its face

little f**ker!!
I set out some rat traps with peanut butter. I also set up two 5 gallon buckets with a wood plank and peanut butter and bread inside giving them one more chance at a live capture but the little things got in the bucket, ate the bread and peanut butter and somehow got out. They made sure to leave poop in the bucket just so I knew it was them and that they are smarter than me lol.

So after alot of thinking I've decided to buy some rat poison bait thingys and set those tonight and this weekend.
Its not what I wanted to do BUT I agree with alot of the advice on here and I must do what I have to do to protect my animals and my sanity.

 

[Sabz]

How life can change our perceptions eh?

I had a big cat problem. Neighbours housed more than 50 cats. They completely destroyed my lawn, my chickens, my birds, scratched my car, peed all over my porches..

I love animals. I hate animals that suffer. I am even an assistant vet..
But now, I hate cats. Especially those from my neighbours.

They finally moved, leaving the cats behind in a mother home.
Some "conscious" neighbour ripped a hole in the VR. Cats escaped and since then, I've been tapping them..

I used to be so sad to see a caged animal. Now I don't care anymore.
I lost ALL the care I had for stray cats. I have NO good feelings for them anymore whatsoever.

I even gave my own cat away. Got tired of cleaning the poop outside in my gardens, then INSIDE in my litter box.

To save my hens, my blind old dog and my property I had to completely change my thinking. Just like you and rats. It's crazy eh? I bet you never thought you'd feel like way about rats.

I hope you little one recovers

PS: you probably already know but be careful with the poison if you have a dog, cats, young kids... or even if the chickens free range sometimes.

 

[Tesumph]

Whoa, what an inspirational chick!
I personally love domesticated rats, they're one of my favourite animals. I've owned 9 thus far but got too busy with school to keep up with stimulating them. They're a step below dogs, if you treat them right. All the same, I haven't hesitated to put out mouse and rat snap traps in our home and the chicken coop. It's no different than any other domestic or feral animal. You wouldn't hesitate to shoot or take action against a coyote or a violent feral dog; those aren't the same as your family mutt. Don't get em confused hehe.

As others have said, make sure you clean up that poison and their droppings real good before you let your chickens out. Having a hen eat that would be a nightmare.

 

[123RedBeard]

Yes, and how many rats did each cat eat, over how long of a time period!

One little individual rat poop, is not gonna make a lot of difference, 50 pounds, yeah, probably ...

From - http://store.doyourownpestcontrol.com/secondary-poison-concerns

SECONDARY POISONING CONCERNS WITH DOGS AND CATS

What happens if my dog eats the mice that have died from poison rodent baits? Can they be poisoned as a second poison? How does primary poisoning differ from secondary ingestion?

These are very common questions by our residential customers. These questions are also of interest to rodent control practices around zoos, farms with livestock, and other facilities with animals.

PRIMARY VS SECONDARY POISONING

When an animal directly eats the rodent bait it is a primary poisoning. This would occur when an animal eats rodenticide that is not in a tamper-resistant bait station or in an accessible area. Primary poisoning is the most general way that pets and non-targeted animals get poisoned from rodent baits

Secondary poisoning occurs when an animal eats the flesh of a rat or mouse after they consumed the rodent bait. This occurs in anticoagulant rodent baits such as brodifacoum, bromadiolone, difethialone and diphacinone. Digested anticoagulants can reside in the livers of mice and rats after consuming the rodent bait. When an animal eats the entire carcass of poisoned rodents, they can ingest the anticoagulants. Another way the animal can consume the bait is to eat undigested bait that is in the mouth or gut of the rodent. This is not as much secondary as a primary way of ingesting the poison.

For secondary poisoning to occur, depends on a lot of factors. These factors include the amount of toxicant, the animal's general health and sensitivity and the timing of the bait ingested by the rodent. Some anticoagulants are single feeding baits, and some are multiple feeding bait. Multiple feeding baits require several feedings over a while for a lethal dose. Single feed baits are stronger. Since rats eat more bait than mice, secondary poisoning more frequently occurs with rat carcasses. Rats can eat up to 30 grams of rodent bait a day while mice only consumes up to 4 grams of bait.

SECONDARY POISONING IS RARE

Although secondary poisoning is possible, it is unlikely to occur. Anticoagulant baits are manufactured with low dosages of active ingredients that range from 25 parts to 50 parts per million. A 20 lb dog would need to consume a range from 1.6 to 96 ounces of baits such as Contrac (bromadiolone) or Final(brodifacoum) to get poisoned in both primary or secondary poisonings.

The chances of a pet to consume enough carcasses of a dead rat to accumulate sufficient poison for secondary poisoning would be low. It is more likely to occur with a high population of dead poisoned rats that are accessible, coupled with pets or non-targeted animals that are foraging for food due to hunger. Most pets are loved and fed well. They would need to be very hungry for them to eat many dead carcasses of rats.

MORE TYPICAL SCENARIOS WITH SECONDARY RODENTICIDE HAZARDS

A more typical scenario would happen on a farm where farm cats or dogs are not fed well. These dogs and cats would forage for food where they have access, and eat enough dead rodents to curb their appetite. Exotic animal farms confined livestock and in zoos have animals where secondary poisoning would more readily occur. Some captive animals and carnivorous birds are very sensitive to anticoagulant baits in very small amounts. Always keep rodent bait in tamper-resistant bait stations to avoid direct poisoning. Try to keep the animals away from areas where the poisoned rodents might be available. Practice sanitation by cleaning up dead rodents and either incinerate or bury them.

It is necessary to inform the vet if your pet accidentally consumes the bait either directly or indirectly from secondary poisoning.

And from - http://www.allstateanimalcontrol.com/animals/rats/rats_poison.php

What if an animal eats the dead poisoned rat and becomes poisoned? Sometimes people worry about using poison because they fear that some other animal will find the dead rat and eat it, and thereby become poisoned, too. Most products on the market now are formulated so that the risk of killing a secondary animal is very, very low.

 

[MsDejesus1]

Update

So we think the bantam chick that was attacked is a rooster lol. He is a feisty little one. All our chickens got some free range time with my husband and myself this morning him included and he loved it. He never wandered too far from me but he did great. Our little silkie baby who was untouched in the rat attack is so bonded to him. It thinks he's his mommy or something lol. I'm happy he's doing well. Thank you guys honestly your advice and knowledge pretty much saved his life

 

[yochickiemomma]

So glad to hear your babies are doing well.