Rats killing chickens?

[Higins00]

The posion is in the hole where the rat tunnels. When he gets to the posion, it's food, that's what it is looking for. He eats the posion and therefore does not have to tunnel out to the ducks/ chickens to eat them because he has found other food.

 

[Sparky2726]

All this talk reminds me of a story my grandmother would always tell. Her father was a farmer in Tazewell, VA in 1920s on. Word was that he invented a type of incubator, but I cant confirm that. Anyway, when my grandmother and grandfather was courting, they where at his house for a family gathering. His family was target shooting, and figured they would be nice and let her shoot. She out shot ALL of them, including my grandfather.

Come to find out, she was the oldest child, and there was quite a while before they had a male child, so she ended up with all the normal eldest male chores. One of those included shooting rats as they ran out from under the chicken house to grab chicks.

She loved telling that one on my grandfather, but I don't think he liked it too much. LOL

Lee

 

[BlackBart]

I've heard of Rats getting chickens at night when they are on the perch. But the rat popluation was huge.
As for killing rats and if they don't want to use poison get a Rat Zapper.

 

[NHchicks]

I'm thinking this craigslist poster assumed they were rats, and maybe there was a bigger culprit involved too. When I read that, I just couldn't see how rats, which I've never seen in these parts or heard of in big numbers, could be killing that many chickens. I'm thinking the rats have big friends.

 

[Captain Carrot]

I've had rats kill chicks in my shed before. It's not a pretty sight to find chicks with their heads gnawed off. I used an air riffle to get rid of them.


A rat box with poison inside will be safe for the chickens, but if there is chicken food around then they would eat that over the poison.