Ducks eating rat poop??

[duckduckgoose13]

Hello! So today while I was cleaning my ducks cage, I noticed rat droppings in their food and one of my ducks noticeable slower, and obviously ill because she is not her normal self. I was wondering if rat poop can make her sick?? Or if she is poisoned from the rat poop due to the rat eating rat poison? I’m not sure what to do because I can tell she’s just not feeling well.

 

[sourland]

Absolutely. Among other things rat feces can contain Salmonella. @casportpony can you help here? Baytril is sometimes used for treatment in pigeons.

 

[Miss Lydia]

I'd think she needs a vet. Rat poop is bad enough but if the rat has been eating poison then that's really not good.
Not sure if flushes for toxins would work with something like this.

 

[casportpony]

I agree, I think it would be best to have a vet look at her.

 

[KaleIAm]

Do you poison your rats, or have neighbors nearby that do/might?

We have rats and my vet isn't concerned about them affecting the health of my ducks, which I was surprised about. We don't use poison, or have neighbors near.

But if your duck isn't well I think a vet is always the best option.

 

[duckduckgoose13]

Do you poison your rats, or have neighbors nearby that do/might?

We have rats and my vet isn't concerned about them affecting the health of my ducks, which I was surprised about. We don't use poison, or have neighbors near.

But if your duck isn't well I think a vet is always the best option.

Unfortunately my dad does poison but my ducks aren’t free range and doesn’t put it near their coop but I guess the rat poop would carry the poison?? But how much? I also noticed there was only one egg in the nesting box today whereas there’s usually two due to having two ducks.

 

[KaleIAm]

Unfortunately my dad does poison but my ducks aren’t free range and doesn’t put it near their coop but I guess the rat poop would carry the poison?? But how much? I also noticed there was only one egg in the nesting box today whereas there’s usually two due to having two ducks.

I imagine the rats would eat the poison and then travel to the ducks coop. Our rats love to live under/near our ducks they feel really safe there.

I'm not sure how much poison the poop could have in it. You could call animal poison control. I bet they would know, but it isn't free like human. Last time I called them it cost... I think $65 ish.

 

[duckduckgoose13]

I imagine the rats would eat the poison and then travel to the ducks coop. Our rats love to live under/near our ducks they feel really safe there.

I'm not sure how much poison the poop could have in it. You could call animal poison control. I bet they would know, but it isn't free like human. Last time I called them it cost... I think $65 ish.

Oh okay thank you! I’m just curious what is wrong because in all honesty...I’ve had them for a while and this isn’t the first time rat poop has appeared in the ducks coop. I’ve always had a rat issue. I’m starting to wonder if maybe she’s egg bound ?

 

[KaleIAm]

Oh okay thank you! I’m just curious what is wrong because in all honesty...I’ve had them for a while and this isn’t the first time rat poop has appeared in the ducks coop. I’ve always had a rat issue. I’m starting to wonder if maybe she’s egg bound ?

Yeah, rats love duck food, and the safety of the duck run/coop. If you wrap the entire thing in hardware cloth the rats probably won't be able to get in, but you'll need a massive skirt, too.

I've taken my eggbound ducks into the vet for x-rays and they can tell me if my ducks are eggbound pretty quickly. If I suspected my duck was eggbound and I couldn't take her in to the vet I would start treating her at home. What specific symptoms are you seeing?

 

[duckduckgoose13]

Yeah, rats love duck food, and the safety of the duck run/coop. If you wrap the entire thing in hardware cloth the rats probably won't be able to get in, but you'll need a massive skirt, too.

I've taken my eggbound ducks into the vet for x-rays and they can tell me if my ducks are eggbound pretty quickly. If I suspected my duck was eggbound and I couldn't take her in to the vet I would start treating her at home. What specific symptoms are you seeing?

Normally she is energetic and very talkative but today she will hardly talk, she is eating and drinking but when I let my girls out to play and forage she just kind of stood there and walked a little and foraged a little but it was all as if she just had no energy. I noticed her tail was down as well and her breathing was not normal. This is all out of no where too. She is on purina duck feed along with oyster shells available whenever she needs.

rats have always been an issue and trying to eliminate rats hasn’t changed in the way we do it, and rat poop is often found in the coops which is why I deep clean everyday and they have never tried eating rat poop before but I can’t really think of any other reason why she’d be acting like this?