Help!! Not sure what is going on

[LLJerysnemisis]

I lost one hen today and had to put another down. I have 3 with pink eye. I cleaned the coop about a week ago, then again today, bleached, dusted etc. we have had a rat around for a while, so I'm not sure if it is the problem. The hen that died was sneezing yesterday, only 1 had pink eye and the one I had to put down seemed to have rye neck. They were all eating and drinking on their own yesterday. The ones with pink eye seem otherwise healthy. If anyone has any pointers (we are trying to trap the rat) I would really appreciate it
Thank you

 

[fogandcopper]

It sounds like the rat is spreading all sorts of fun through your flock. best thing to do is keep trying till you do catch that rat then treat your hens.

 

[farmtotable]

We have had a lot of luck with the old school large mouse traps (the kind that snap over) baited with peanut butter. Also, if you don't already, make sure to store all your feed in metal trash cans with tight fitting lids. You want to make your area as unappealing to rats as possible. Our farm backs up to a greenbelt, so keeping out rodents is virtually impossible, but we have also had luck with those solar NiteGuard devices. I was skeptical at first whether or not they would work, but I happened to win some in a photography contest, and my husband put them up around our chicken area, and I haven't seen or heard a rat since!

 

[farmtotable]

I probably don't need to add this, but make sure to check and remove the traps every morning before you let the chickens out - they'll peck at anything shiny!

 

[LLJerysnemisis]

Is there anything else I should be treating the chickens with other than ac vinegar, vitamin & electrolytes, and the pink eye gel? I was told yesterday to try adding cayenne pepper to their water to help also, and again thank you all for your advice I really appreciate it