my 2weeks old chicks got attacked

[random]

hey, i have 3 chicks that are old enough they are mostly feathers and 2 2weeks old chicks...its nice weather here so we put them outside, off the ground in a separate pen to the rooster so he wouldnt peck them. checked them before going to bed and all were cuddled up nicely in their makeshift wooden box/bed. lots of grass for warmth and cushioning and only a small 10cm gap from the roof to the top of the wire enclosing them...bout 2am i heard the littlest 1 cheeping so i went out to suss it all out....1 of the little 2 was ripped in half guts everywhere...very messy!...and the other 1 is missing the skin off its little tiny thigh...not big in size but big for the size of the chick! worked it out and the only plausible explanation is rats...i really thought they were safe 1m off the ground with another 1m high wire around! shouldve known by how fast the 1 roo that is out there was "eating" his food. anyway we brought them in, cleaned the little survivours wound and isolated it. the others are outside again today, they are 100% but the little 1 is still inside...shes eating and drinking little bits here and there, there are no deep gashes/cuts...just the skin is not there, the wound is clean and dry...no weeping or yuckies. so my question is...will it survive well enough and how will it affect the chick? both physically and mentally? what else can i do for it? these 2 were special to me cuz my partner got them from a mate a few hours after they were born from show stock...he picked them specially for me...and hes not a sweet kinda guy....so when he does nice things like this it means alot...i lost 1 of them and i dont want this 1 to get hurt anymore then it is...what r ur management hints?
sorry its a long winded story...

 

[Lollipop]

If you have a rat problem, the only prevention is 1/2 inch wire mesh. commonly called hardware cloth here in the States. You must still take care for the feet of the bird, if the floor of the pen is wire. Rats will eat the toes right off the feet. They`ll find a way to reach them. All of the other places must be tight as rats can get through tiney places.

If your chick is eating and drinking, it should recover, although I would be concerned about warmth. The lungs are close to the back and the back is the last thing to feather. If the lungs get cold, the chick will develpoe pnuemonia and die. I never put chicks outside, even here in South Florida in the summer, until the backs are feathered.

Put some antibiotic ointment on the wound.

 

[random]

Quote:
i have put antibiotic ointment on it...it seems to be better but then its also just laying there sleeping...is that just resting? no the floor is dirt with clippings but where they were is 1m above the ground and its all wood...my partner said the rats prolly climbed the wire....we have corrugated iron up the back and along the bottom on either side cemented 1/2m into the ground, however the front door/gate is a fence gate turned on its side..thats how they got in...i havent seen them ever or even seen any rat poo so i didnt even consider it...infact i didnt even know rats did that! it was very upsetting for me. the other chicks have their feathers...just on the top of their head still has the down attached to the end of the feathers and their butts are 1/2 and 1/2...as for the chick thats hurt...its kinda under its wing...on the actual thigh muscle itself...but she wont be going out for a while now anyway.
i will take ur hardware cloth idea though. the bigger 1s are fine with the rooster so i may still put them out but with him so he can protect them...they werent even bothered by last night, they were still sitting quietly...i think it was just they were too little to help the 2 young 1s...its quite warm here atm and they sleep in a well protected wooden box....ill try the 3 tonight and see how they go...truth is im due to have my baby in 2 weeks and i cant have them inside anymore...i really need the laundry and i dont fancy being woken by a baby a 3 yr old and chicks at diff times of the morn

 

[chickenladyk]

I would NOT recommend putting two-week old chicks with a rooster. He may kill them, since they are not his offspring.

Two-week old chicks are too young to be outside, except on very warm days. Even then, they must be well protected from predators, have shade, plenty of food and water, etc. They should not be left outside at night.

Chicks are fairly fragile, especially without a mother to take care of them.

Your chicks have no one to protect them but you. I would encourage you to read up on raising chicks. There are a number of good books out there, and many will be available to read for free at your local public library.

Good luck with them!

 

[SussexInSeattle]

Another thing to consider when dealing with a rat that has a taste of chick blood, chances are great that it will get bolder because it's like that rat turns into adamn vampire! This happened to my chicks when I had them outdoors all day in a pen last spring but did not get off work early enough and darkness had started to fall, I lost 2 chicks that evening.

Next day or two, I had the chicks out and this huge female rat pushed it's way into the outdoor pen at 1:30 in the afternoon! It was in the process of ripping the skin off one chicks back and did not see me come up from behind and I will NEVER get that sick image out of my mind as long as I live, little chick peeping it's head off and big rat tearing it's back.

I screamed to my Doberman to get the rat and at first he didn't see what I was talking about but the rat then knew it was busted and started running back and forth in the summer cage. It finally found it's way out but by then my dobe had seen it running around and they both disappeared from view on the other side of my truck.

I picked up the chick but it just shut it's eyes and checked out of life. It was too much freakyness for the chick I think. My dog came back to me and I thought, "Crap,it got away" About 30 minutes later, I went to the trash can on the other side of my truck and there lay a very dead big rat! My good dog HAD got it, he just forgot to tell me so!

So, any chance you could get a rat terrier or Jack Russell or Scottish terrier? Schnauzer?

PS, I have not lost another chick to any rats even though I KNOW they still enter my barn because I am constantly filling in the holes they dig to get in. My next batch of chicks all made it to roosting age with no rat attacks. So I believe that all my deaths were caused by the one female that my dog killed.

 

[random]

the chick is doing great hobbling abit but eating and drinking and cheeping normal...ive been soo careful to make sure the rooster cant get to any chicks and they are always warm and they have a good variety of food...we did have mice and we had a terrier that caught about 5 of the little buggers but shes not with us anymore and our big dog is too dopey to put 2 and 2 together...i didnt even consider rats....there are no mice anymore...our uncle is a pest man...well there are no signs of them anyway...and rats....theres nothing anywhere ever to indicate rats are anywhere...there still isnt any signs...but the way we had the chicks penned behind high wire in a wood box/bed thingy..thats the only animal small enough to get to them if they scaled the wire...and its the only animal big enough to cause that damage...plus i did hear something leave the pen...sounded to big to be a mouse and too small to be a cat...the weather here can get quite warm at nights too...dunno what its like on ur side but sometimes its cooler outside then in the house! I'D sleep outside if it werent for bloody mozzies! so cuz it was a warm night we thot wed try it and see how we went...didnt turn out too great though! lucky its only 1 and not all 5 though...my partner has put bait out covered in something or other foodish so they eat it...lets hope it gets all the bloody bastards! lol

 

[SussexInSeattle]

I give up! What on earth is a bloody Mozzie?!?!?!

 

[sweet_peeps]

A mosquito.

 

[MoodyChicken]

She should be okay. Bandage it with VetWrap and put Neosporin on it. It wouldn't hurt to give her some antibiotics too.

As far as your rat problem, find their nests and destroy them as often as possible. They'll get tired of it and eventually leave. And bait too. Be careful around your other animals though.

 

[satay]

I am not sure which part of oz your from but I would say a rat or maybe cat from a neighour? We are in Qld here and on 5 acres. I keep my chickens in side at night if they don't have a mother. Snakes can take small chickens too and as we have something like 6 out of the 8 most deadliest in the world up here I don't take a chance with the little ones.( Though you will usually find it's the carpet snakes that take birds) If it was a snake though you would find nothing but a snake with a fully belly of chicks. Foxes can be an issue too. Crows too can take baby chicks and you would be surprised how little gaps they need to get into somewhere.