Are rats dangerous to chickens?

[Chickn chick 46]

We had rats last summer in the neighborhood and I think my chickens were (quietly) getting blamed as being the attractant b/c we were seeing them during the day. The town health dept guy came to my house looked all over for evidence that they were in my yard, nothing. Not in the coop, under the coop, in the feed, in the manure pile.


The point I wanted to make was that he said that rats are nocturnal animals, if you are seeing them during the day that means that the young need to go out in the daylight b/c they can't compete for food with the older ones at night. Apparently, rats have a hierarchy. They are also highly intelligent and adapable. And as everyone has said, they multiply with lighting speed.

 

[buglit]

Please do not use poison to kill your rats or mice. Any birds or other animals that eat the dead vermin will also die from the poison. Get a barn cat or set out traps.

 

[chris2pa]

Quote:
The bucket one does work that is what I was going to suggest. We see alot of farmers have set ups like that around their big corn bins and feed holders. Make it easy for them to get in because once their in they are not getting out. No not a pretty site but it helps get the job done. And if you get big rat traps with the hinge that comes down on them make sure you anchor it on to something heavy because they will crawl away with it. My son and Husband sat out side one day baiting these big boys in and was shooting them with the high powered Bebe gun. I am talking the Bebe gun with recoil. But was taking to long and drove into town and got rat traps and had them taking care of in 2 days. Alot of reloading. And they do multiply quickly. Their was a family of 20 living underneath our coop. I would be sitting up on the deck and hear this snap. I would holler got ourselves another one.. Time to reload. We would place 2 traps down they would pass the first one then go right for the second one. And they thought they were smart.. Huh we showed them who was smarter...lol

 

[edb]

When I was in school my ag. teacher told us that 52 mice can eat as much as one cow. That interesting fact has stuck with me through the year. It shows the importance of rodent control.

 

[Chicks_N_Horses]

My DH helped remove some slats in a chicken house (a big one - not someones home coop) one time several years ago as a favor for someone and he was freaked out at the amout of rats living under the chickens. He said there were millions of them with big tunnels all throughout the slats.

I have never had a rat problem here at all...never even seen one except what the cats caught from the yard so I have never had any affect my chickens I don't guess.

 

[gumpsgirl]

Quote:
I guess they get them when they are still on the roosts.

MissPrissy will vouch for me on this one. She lost like 9 Blue Orpington fully grown hens to a hoard of rats.

They really will kill your chickens.

 

[treeowl]

Quote:
The bucket one does work that is what I was going to suggest. We see alot of farmers have set ups like that around their big corn bins and feed holders. Make it easy for them to get in because once their in they are not getting out. No not a pretty site but it helps get the job done. And if you get big rat traps with the hinge that comes down on them make sure you anchor it on to something heavy because they will crawl away with it. My son and Husband sat out side one day baiting these big boys in and was shooting them with the high powered Bebe gun. I am talking the Bebe gun with recoil. But was taking to long and drove into town and got rat traps and had them taking care of in 2 days. Alot of reloading. And they do multiply quickly. Their was a family of 20 living underneath our coop. I would be sitting up on the deck and hear this snap. I would holler got ourselves another one.. Time to reload. We would place 2 traps down they would pass the first one then go right for the second one. And they thought they were smart.. Huh we showed them who was smarter...lol

Thanks for the tip I will try this right away. Since I started raising my chickens I have noticed more and more paths in and around where our coop and chicken yard is. The rats and mice are tunneling under the fence, and I want it to stop. This just might do the trick, I sure don't want to hurt the rabbits or other pets we have.

 

[OtneyPrice]

I agree that if you've seen one rat, there are multiple rats on your property. I've never had them bother a full grown hen, but the deal breaker for me was when the chicken feeder started emptying faster. I refuse to pay money to feed rats that create more rats that eat more food! Just One Bite II Bars are the best poison I"ve come across. Use locking bait stations to be kid/pet safe if necessary. Rats are to chickens what dirty diapers are to babies - just deal with it as fast as you can.

 

[7L Farm]

Quote:
If my roo can't handle a rat he ain't worth keeping.

 

[shelleyd2008]

Quote:
If my roo can't handle a rat he ain't worth keeping.

Since rats are most active at night when chickens are roosting, you shouldn't be so harsh. We had a terrible rat problem here a year or so ago, I lost several pigeons, quail, chicks, ducklings, grown bantams, and even 1 LF hen that I know of. The roosters didn't do a thing about it because nothing will get them off their roost at night unless they are scared, then they can't see the nasty creatures anyway.