Drowned Rats and more

[Homersolo]

Ugh. Rats. I've killed several, blocked off their routes into the coop and more. They keep coming back. Tonight I ventured deep into the run and found some things that disturb me very much. first I found extensive tunnels. Then I found lots of rat poop leading to a hole at the bottom of the tree. Yay rats.

I'll pause here and ask my first question - what health concerns should I have for my chickens?

I then found a rat hiding under a chicken toy. Freaked me a bit but I knew rats were there. Just not this bad. I then checked my chicken's water to make sure it was clean. It was unclean. There was a drowned rat in the bottom of my chicken's water ( I use a bucket with nipples as my watering system). I cleaned out the bucket immediately but it brings me to my second question: what health concerns should I have for my chickens due to the rat in the water???

Help!

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

I don't think there's any health concerns. Sometimes rats will chew on chickens, and they consume lots of feed and soil the rest. We use poison, it is the only way for us. Trapping does nothing. If you are seeing rats or sign than you have lots of rats. We deal with them every fall as rats living in the fields are looking for a nice winter home.

We use a bait box hidden under some hay bales or pieces of wood. I check daily for any dead ones. 99% of the time they die in their tunnels. I have never had secondary poisoning. Rats aren't something to take lightly, they are destructive.

 

[chicknmania]

WEll, of course, Salmonella comes to mind, but there's not a whole lot you can do other than sanitize your chickens waters and feeders and living quarters as much as possible. Rats can be a problem, but I've found mixing Plaster of Paris and powdered sugar works for some...about 50 50 mix and they will usually eat it, and...well...you can imagine. I mix it in like a catfood can or something that smells good, and then put that in a box or something so the chickens aren't tempted to sample it. I think it's more effective than trying to trap. I hate killing anything (even rats) but rats are a big no no no. And I'd rather do it that way than poison. There are also electric rat traps which I guess work, but are expensive! And cats, of course. As far as health concerns for the chickens themselves, I'll just say that we've had rats in the past, and we will again probably, and I've never known any chickens to experience health issues from it.

Well, here's a postscript...rats can and will kill and eat baby chicks. We had a broody with a big brood and she was having problems keeping them under her and on the roost. They were about 3 or 4 weeks old, and two disappeared in a space of two weeks. I'm sure rats got them that time, though it has not been a problem before or since then, it is something to remember.

I'm sure you know to pick up feed the flock has left as much as possible, and also to keep feed in metal cans or heavy duty rat proof bins.

 

[chicknmania]

I don't think there's any health concerns. Sometimes rats will chew on chickens, and they consume lots of feed and soil the rest. We use poison, it is the only way for us. Trapping does nothing. If you are seeing rats or sign than you have lots of rats. We deal with them every fall as rats living in the fields are looking for a nice winter home.

We use a bait box hidden under some hay bales or pieces of wood. I check daily for any dead ones. 99% of the time they die in their tunnels. I have never had secondary poisoning. Rats aren't something to take lightly, they are destructive.

What kind of poison do you use?

 

[CntryBoy777]

One thing to be concerned about is them multiplying and when they do, it won't be too long before they are overpopulated. We have cats that stayed outside and during bad weather we put them in the storage buildings. They will destroy your feed, so be sure it is contained in a metal garbage can, as they will chew thru anything plastic or wood. Something ya can do to aid in the control is to keep all scraps and excess food cleaned up and the brush and grass cut back. This opens the area up and lessens the hiding places they have from predators. An over abundance will draw predators to the area and your chickens can be targeted by those predators drawn by the rats. I have never heard of any shared diseases that can affect chickens, but they do carry parasites that may become problematic. I would get a BB/Pellet gun and shoot every one that I saw....on top of using poison or cats. If ya find any nests the chickens will enjoy the babies, they get excited eating mice and rat babies....wish ya well in getting rid of those disgusting critters.

 

[venymae]

Make sure your feed is not accessible to the rats. Trigger feeders or trundle feeders are often helpful for this. Set traps and poison. You can make your own rolling log or plank rat trap, using cans and a 5 gallon bucket, which can catch multiple rats (and mice) in one go.

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

What kind of poison do you use?

The Tom Cat brand

 

[Ridgerunner]

Rats and mice are a constant problem around here. My coop is the end of a shed and my compost pile is in that area, both draw rats and mice even without considering chicken feed. I almost always have live traps, snap traps, and even occasionally a bucket trap out. I have one of those electric traps too. As long as they stay out of the coop I don't bother snakes that come by to eat rats and mice. That helps keep the numbers down some but certainly does not eliminate them. Even with all that the numbers do sometimes get out of hand.

I use the same poison OHLD uses. I keep it out of any area the chickens can get to and put it somewhere dogs and cats cannot get it. This type of poison does not kill with one bite, they have to eat it for a while for the dosage to build up enough to kill them. Keep track of it and replace it when it gets low.

When I don't use poison I feed the mice and rats back to the chickens. The mice I just toss in, they will eat them, usually with a game of keepaway. The rats I cut open with an ax so they can get to the good parts, then toss what is left of the carcass when they are finished.

When I use poison I don't feed any I find back to the chickens, whether I trap them or just find a carcass. As OHLD said most die in their tunnels. It's possible a chicken will find a dead or dying one and eat it, that doesn't concern me. The dosage of this kind of poison it takes to kill a mouse is not a danger to a chicken because the chicken has such a larger body. A chicken is not going to eat enough mice for it to be a problem.

There are other poisons, such as that one-step, that I won't say that about. But I don't use that kind.

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

Rats and mice are a constant problem around here. My coop is the end of a shed and my compost pile is in that area, both draw rats and mice even without considering chicken feed. I almost always have live traps, snap traps, and even occasionally a bucket trap out. I have one of those electric traps too. As long as they stay out of the coop I don't bother snakes that come by to eat rats and mice. That helps keep the numbers down some but certainly does not eliminate them. Even with all that the numbers do sometimes get out of hand.

I use the same poison OHLD uses. I keep it out of any area the chickens can get to and put it somewhere dogs and cats cannot get it. This type of poison does not kill with one bite, they have to eat it for a while for the dosage to build up enough to kill them. Keep track of it and replace it when it gets low.

When I don't use poison I feed the mice and rats back to the chickens. The mice I just toss in, they will eat them, usually with a game of keepaway. The rats I cut open with an ax so they can get to the good parts, then toss what is left of the carcass when they are finished.

When I use poison I don't feed any I find back to the chickens, whether I trap them or just find a carcass. As OHLD said most die in their tunnels. It's possible a chicken will find a dead or dying one and eat it, that doesn't concern me. The dosage of this kind of poison it takes to kill a mouse is not a danger to a chicken because the chicken has such a larger body. A chicken is not going to eat enough mice for it to be a problem.

There are other poisons, such as that one-step, that I won't say that about. But I don't use that kind.

You have guts to take an ax to a rat. I'm too squeamish.

 

[Ridgerunner]

They are already dead and won't feel a thing.