Rats? A Cat? Something Else? What killed my chickens?

[BDutch]

Well, kind of a rough update. Not a fatality, but I just watched on my Ring camera a really disturbing rat attack on my rooster, Bernard. First one of the rats basically flushes him down off of the roost. Then as he wanders around in the dark, they keep jumping up at him, biting him and chasing him. From the looks of it, this attack went on for well over half an hour before he somehow found a roost where they couldn't get at him.

My phone was really low on battery and charging, so I hadn't checked the camera as often as I've been, and was horrified because this all happened almost 4 hours ago. Sprinted out to the run before finishing watching the footage. Thank goodness he's alive and from the look of it mainly has some superficial bites. I cannot overstate how upsetting it was watching him stumbling around in the dark, unable to see and unable to notice the rats creeping up on him from different directions.

Today I got about 1/4 done building a secure roosting box for them, and now I'm determined to finish it before they go to bed tomorrow night. I'm kind of scared for my other flock now, as I'll have to build them their own box and there are only so many hours of sunlight. (I work tomorrow from 9-2).

I've got my barn cat with an attitude, Oliver, out with them now in the run, and I think I'll get my hammock out and join them.

Rats! *shakes fist*

Thanks for sharing the update. Good luck with the rat proof coops.
Is it possible for you to upload the footage and share it here next week?

 

[Anon112]

Thanks for sharing the update. Good luck with the rat proof coops.
Is it possible for you to upload the footage and share it here next week?

I'll try to figure it out and upload it.

Going back to something Al said earlier in the thread about proper roosts where the rats can't get at their toes: the only chickens who have been attacked are the ones who sleep on top of the coop roof, which forces their feet at a wider angle. So far (she said, aware of bad luck), my chickens who roost on a narrower roost have not been attacked. Just a thought for anyone else who might be in a similar situation.