OMG today was predator day at our place!

[RedfogsFlock]

We get home from work today and are sitting in the living room relaxing when I see a hawk circle my coops. Usually they don't bother our flock but today he must've been hungry. I go out the door just in time to see him go down on the other side of the shed. I run out yelling & making all kinds of racquette. I get there & no bird! I was sure he didn't fly away. So I look all birds accounted for & just chillin under the mesquite tree. So I decide to make a lap around the coops & there he is low an behold big as day!! Walking! well kind of hopping towards my flock under the tree!!! I took out after him & he circled for about twenty more minutes till he decided I wasn't going to go in so he was best to leave.

Then a little while later I was cleaning out my coops & noticed that the stuff i had raked out of the coop last week was once again in the coop. So my hubby & I decided to flip over our brooder box, & there is this huge pack rat under it!! It was at least 2 foot long easy! So that explains the deaths while we were gone on vacation! While we were gone my son thought it a good idea to take my roosts out of the coop. That left my chickens roosting on the ground, and in the mornings my mom would find one chicken dead every morning with a hole eaten in their side. Don't ask why son took their roosts, we have no clue.

What a day! Now it's time to go close up coops cuz somehow we've attracted an owl that also likes to hunt at night!

So that's my rant for the day! Thanks for listening.

 

[b.hromada]

I'd be quite upset as well!!

Hope you can take care of your rat problem, and keep that hungry hawk at bay too.

 

[drumstick diva]

Wow, I've never seen a pack rat I thought that was only an expression. Are they really that big??

 

[shelleyd2008]

You need to trap or poison the rat before it turns into a big problem! I've been putting poison out nightly for about 2 weeks and we are finally to the point that we are not seeing them during the day. The last 2 days the feed pans have still had feed in them come morning, so I think we've finally gotten them under control. I've lost countless number of chicks, at least 5 bantam chickens, 1 LF chicken (that I know of), and at least 15 quail to the rats that we had here, they are not to be messed with! Think of them like cockroaches. The saying goes if you see one, there are 1,000 that you don't see. I don't think rats are quite that bad, but you definitely have more than one.

 

[mmaddie's mom]

Neighbor put out pans of fresh Coke for the rats... says they can't belch and get bloated and die

... can chickens belch?