Chicken eats rat poo, any treatment for chicken?

[Debbie292d]

Thank you. I checked out the metal feeder here, quite expensive. To avoid this infestation that might be the only option.

I put lime on the floor to help decompose the spillage feed faster. I also added pine bark with hope that the pine bark smell deter rodents. It might not be a complete solution, but a temporary solution to give me time to check out the feeder and other solutions.

For over 7 years now I have been having chickens, this is the first time I saw my hen eats rodent poops, it upset me to no end. I think this might just be my last flock.

We've got a farmer across the road that's got tons of rats. So many that their tunnels under her chicken run caused one side to sink. She would sit out with some gun off her porch and pick them off. I feared we'd get hers here, but only twice. Once, a bunch of she poisoned ran over here to die, and the second time, the border collie sensed something in the coop, ran in there, and came out with a rat in its mouth. I took a picture of it and sent it to her asking if it was one of hers. She got a laugh. She said it was a scout rat, and since that one didn't get to go back to the others, they'll not come here. She was right. Both instances were several years.

Since then, we've had a fox going past our breeding pens to get from the creek behind our coop to her barns. She said between the fox and an owl, they were killing off her rats. We left the fox alone for a few weeks, then rerouted it with a loud radio.

I can't imagine having to deal with them as you do, but I'd have to look for a quantity deal on those treadle feeders since we'd need at least 8 to replace our current feeders. That is the way to go though!

 

[Al Gerhart]

Eight is a lot of feeders.... You know though, Howard E.'s advice on the sanitation method was more than a treadle feeder. Cleaning up the pathways to force the rats out into the open for travel makes them far more likely to be taken by the fox and the owl. The problem is that then you have two predators associating your coop with meal time.

Might start there, forcing the rats out into view.

I believe the OP is from Australia. They have a feeder named Supreme that is not great but it is better than the Chinese made Grandpa feeders and the other Chinese made clones. It has a huge treadle plate which is bad and it is perforated which cuts a lot of chicken toes and causes bumblefoot, and some plastic around the feed tray that the rats will chew through, $234 AU for the larger one, $154.00 in normal currency (LOL). No spring pre load on the door = not at all rat proof. By the time you pay something to ship domestically in AU you are close to ordering an $85.00 US feeder and paying the importing costs, at least you are sure it will work.

Then there is the Chooktread, $225 Aud, a little better with no plastic but it is a balance design with a huge treadle, no perforations in the treadle which is good but it would also be slick as snot when some poop gets tracked onto the step. No spring pre load so it really is not rat proof. Costs $60 more than an actual ratproof feeder so maybe with the domestic shipping costs it would be competitive to import a U.S. feeder. We can ship out of the Philippines too but the cost is not much less than one coming from the U.S..

Just avoid the feed o matic with the multitude of green plastic parts. Those are junk. You could buy them by the pallet for $40.00, they were and still are dumping them in the U.S. but some sellers literally had warnings about the plastic parts getting chewed through and eventually Amazon yanked them off the platform in the U.S. due to massive returns.

And before someone mentions the Grandpa feeder, check the Amazon U.S. reviews, it and itsl other Chinese made clones stay in the 25 to 30% negative review rate, a horrendous review rate. Same perforated big treadle plate that traps chicken toes or leaves them bloody with toe cuts, no pre load on the door so rats just push the lid up and crawl in, not very waterproof according to the many complaints, it has a link at the back that is so flimsy they sell replacements. True, there can be wear item like springs but the basic treadle arm shouldn't require replacement under normal operating conditions. If you are on a tight budget consider the Vervor Grandpa clone. Made in China of course like the Grandpa but it isn't any better or worse and is half the cost....just try to order some spare back links. Where the lower treadle arm connects to the upper arm that lifts the lid is a short flat aluminum link that is prone to bending and preventing the lid from rising. Or have someone locally fabricate some spares out of actual steel, then again, you might be building a crude battery bolting aluminum to steel with bolts. Wouldn't last long due to corrosion if that is the case.

 

[SkyAJK]

Eight is a lot of feeders.... You know though, Howard E.'s advice on the sanitation method was more than a treadle feeder. Cleaning up the pathways to force the rats out into the open for travel makes them far more likely to be taken by the fox and the owl. The problem is that then you have two predators associating your coop with meal time.

Might start there, forcing the rats out into view.

I believe the OP is from Australia. They have a feeder named Supreme that is not great but it is better than the Chinese made Grandpa feeders and the other Chinese made clones. It has a huge treadle plate which is bad and it is perforated which cuts a lot of chicken toes and causes bumblefoot, and some plastic around the feed tray that the rats will chew through, $234 AU for the larger one, $154.00 in normal currency (LOL). No spring pre load on the door = not at all rat proof. By the time you pay something to ship domestically in AU you are close to ordering an $85.00 US feeder and paying the importing costs, at least you are sure it will work.

Then there is the Chooktread, $225 Aud, a little better with no plastic but it is a balance design with a huge treadle, no perforations in the treadle which is good but it would also be slick as snot when some poop gets tracked onto the step. No spring pre load so it really is not rat proof. Costs $60 more than an actual ratproof feeder so maybe with the domestic shipping costs it would be competitive to import a U.S. feeder. We can ship out of the Philippines too but the cost is not much less than one coming from the U.S..

Just avoid the feed o matic with the multitude of green plastic parts. Those are junk. You could buy them by the pallet for $40.00, they were and still are dumping them in the U.S. but some sellers literally had warnings about the plastic parts getting chewed through and eventually Amazon yanked them off the platform in the U.S. due to massive returns.

And before someone mentions the Grandpa feeder, check the Amazon U.S. reviews, it and itsl other Chinese made clones stay in the 25 to 30% negative review rate, a horrendous review rate. Same perforated big treadle plate that traps chicken toes or leaves them bloody with toe cuts, no pre load on the door so rats just push the lid up and crawl in, not very waterproof according to the many complaints, it has a link at the back that is so flimsy they sell replacements. True, there can be wear item like springs but the basic treadle arm shouldn't require replacement under normal operating conditions. If you are on a tight budget consider the Vervor Grandpa clone. Made in China of course like the Grandpa but it isn't any better or worse and is half the cost....just try to order some spare back links. Where the lower treadle arm connects to the upper arm that lifts the lid is a short flat aluminum link that is prone to bending and preventing the lid from rising. Or have someone locally fabricate some spares out of actual steel, then again, you might be building a crude battery bolting aluminum to steel with bolts. Wouldn't last long due to corrosion if that is the case.

Thank you for that insightful information.
This give me a lot to think about many models and their effectiveness.

I will have to take a punch and get a rat proof feeder, 3 of them and that is a big punch!