Predators!!!

[snyd08]

lost my entire larger colony last night to what i believe was rats.

i know when coons get em. they are pulled through "plucked" the wire. these were all half IF HALF chewed at the necks and rears. i have ONE HEN left and she has 2 wounds both on her back i think the critter grabbed her and bit but she got away and he or they were fine with chewing on the others they destroyed. i never understand why a predator must kill multiples before even eating hardly ANY of the first. this will not be taken lightly as these birds were JUST coming into lay. yesterday was day 5 on the eggs for them...

traps will be placed accordingly...live traps as well as large rat traps will be placed along the perimeter of the coops/colony pens. I KNOW they will be back... thatll be the end of them... i'v got some pen tweaking to do as well. i thought id perfected them from all predators....i NEVER expected this one.

 

[CapricornFarm]

Man, I know rats can really be a problem. When we lived in Florida , rats would get in with the rabbits and eat their food, but never attacked the rabbits. Do you have a light on in your pen at night? So sorry about your birds. I lost a whole chicken tractor of hens at POL last year when we went on vacation. Stray dog ripped the chicken wire and killed almost all of them. It was awful. Good luck nabbing the culprits.

 

[diggerduck]

First off, sorry for your loss.

Second, I have heard dispatching carnivores that have offended you with high levels of shotgun pellets seems to help with the therapeutic side of grief. Just a thought

 

[joe125]

May I echo...Sorry for your loss!

Sounds like rats to me. Rats do not want to eat birds, they just want the GBS and eggs in the pen, so when the feeder is empty and the eggs are all gone, they will take the crop and vents from any dead birds in the pen. If it's one or the entire flock.

Contrary to popular belief, the best defense against predators, is a STRONG DEFENSE!
You may need to deploy offensive measures like traps, poison or even gun fire, but 1/2" hardware cloth in all the wire places. 19 GA. or stronger. Not Poly frufru netting, not 1"x 1/2" wire, because if a a rat can get it's head through any hole, the rest of it's body will follow. Also, they have no control over their bladder, or bowels, so they can smell their way back to the hole they came in from. Plug any hole/gap between wood and wire that you can poke a #2 pencil through. I have other defensive tips, if needed.
Of course, if you have some kind of infestation, then that should be dealt with....Again, sorry for your loss!

 

[JJMR794]

Joe Brings A Good Point Here ... Rats Are Incontinent Of Urine (they Dribble Continuosly) And It Glows In Ultraviolet Light. So For The Differential Of Wondering Was It Rats? Or Something Else One Can Take A Blacklight And Look At The Pen In The Dark And See The Urine Tracks If There's A Question About Who The Culprit May Be. Wont Help Stop The Predation, But It Can Steer You In Which Way To Go For Controling The Problem.

 

[FLOrange00]

Sorry to hear, mine have been attacked twice this year. Sounds to me like the evil possum. It seems no matter how well you predator-proof your pens, them rotten possums manage to find a way in. I just dug down all around the perimeter of the pen and filled with broken glass and shells that are real sharp. Fingers crossed. Again, my sympathy and best of luck in the future.

 

[iajewel]

Have you considered a guardian dog to live with your flock? I have 4 dogs and they watch the skys and the ground. I probably would not have a single bird with out them.

 

[aprophet]

Quote:
if you can find the trail like this trapping them /disposing of them is a lot easier I trap them get rid of them in several different ways

 

[snyd08]

did get a rat in a live box trap today. a pretty darn fat rat. used feed and the rest of the birds he ate as bait.... i have more birds that i moved out of that pen for now and am waiting to see if i have a continued problem or if i a just have one smart fat male rat. thanks for all of the feedback. i never really thought about the fact that they would eat the crop and vent just for feed. sick animals. but that is EXACTLY what he did! i did do a bit of repair and am thinking of putting a smaller wire inside their run. he dug a clean hole that i just plain didnt pay attention to. lesson learned. BTW idk what type of wild rat is brown and white spotted. i think it was a released pet or feeder rat. i disbached him anyway...

 

[JJMR794]

AND NOW HE'S A GOOD RAT...