Shadrach's Ex Battery and Rescued chickens thread.

[MrsNorthie]

Rats don’t respect boundaries. If a sick rat comes into your garden it might die right there bringing the poison to you. The poison spreads with other animals that don’t get killed immediately too.

Rat poison builds up in predators. If there was a status quo in wildlife it gets disturbed by poison. Killing rats can cause some-kind of a plague in the years after.

Something like this happened in a northern province of the Netherlands several years ago. They had a mice plague a year or two after the attempt to kill all the rats. The birds of prey and other rat/mice predators got sick and died too. The fast multiplying mice became a problem for the crops.

They did test on several predators they found dead. And it seemed they had a large amount of rat poison in their bodies.

I hate the use of poisoning, the poison they use over here, is basically a high does blood thinner, (basically warfarin/coumadin like @ChaosMom mentioned. They eat it and rather quickly, experience internal hemorrhaging, they don't make it very far and would be obvious after getting snapped in a trap.

 

[Shadrach]

I think likewise. With fields on 2 sides and large gardens on the other two, they must be present here whether seen or not.

Coincidentally and rather weirdly, given that rats don't come up in conversation here often, when I went to poo pick this morning, I found a large rat dead on his back on the lawn nearby. I didn't notice it when I opened up and put out breakfast, but it could have been there then. It was stiffish when I picked it up by the tail to dispose of it. No sign of external injury. No obvious blood at any orifice. Anyone got any idea how this died? Do cats leave them like this? A neighbour's cat was spotted on the bank behind the coops a couple of days ago.

Cats won't usually take on a rat, they're too cowardly for that. Cats prefer things that can't fight back, tiny birds and field mice for examples. Some chickens will take on a rat.

 

[Shadrach]

how did it do it? I had wondered if one or more of the roos were responsible, but would expect some visible injuries in that case.

Rats do die of heart attacks much like mice apparently. Extreme stress will do it. The rats that the chickens I know have killed looked a bit of a mess though.

 

[Shadrach]

There is a rather interesting elderly women I chat to from time to time. I don't see her much during the winter but this morning she was out and we chatted a bit about the state of the world etc.
We were talking about the American adminstration and JD Vance came up in conversation.
My quote of the week from this women is;
"He's awfully pretty for someone who is supposed to be a man."

 

[Shadrach]

Two and a half hours today. Warmish, dry with a light breeze.
Hand fed Henry, makerel, cooked brown rice, a small amount of mature cheddar cheese and some hemp seeds. The hens got their thrown on the ground much to Sylph's annoyance who thought she should share with Henry out of the containor.

Yup Fret's at it again.

They all settled down for a dust bath evenually.

The biggest arses on the field.

 

[ChaosMom]

Cats won't usually take on a rat, they're too cowardly for that. Cats prefer things that can't fight back, tiny birds and field mice for examples. Some chickens will take on a rat.

I don't know if they're cowardly so much as they recognize rats as being easily their size. They don't really have the jaw strength to be able to do serious damage to an adult rat, unless they get lucky (access to the rat's throat, etc.)

Maybe "pragmatic" is a better word, lol

 

[notabitail]

Two and a half hours today. Warmish, dry with a light breeze.
Hand fed Henry, makerel, cooked brown rice, a small amount of mature cheddar cheese and some hemp seeds. The hens got their thrown on the ground much to Sylph's annoyance who thought she should share with Henry out of the containor.
View attachment 4082161

Yup Fret's at it again.
View attachment 4082162View attachment 4082164

They all settled down for a dust bath evenually.
View attachment 4082165View attachment 4082166View attachment 4082167

The biggest arses on the field.
View attachment 4082168
View attachment 4082169View attachment 4082170

Have you asked Fret what she's doing there?

 

[Shadrach]

I don't know if they're cowardly so much as they recognize rats as being easily their size. They don't really have the jaw strength to be able to do serious damage to an adult rat, unless they get lucky (access to the rat's throat, etc.)

Maybe "pragmatic" is a better word, lol

Well, that depends om how one views cats doesn't it.
I detest them. I would rather have rats.

 

[Shadrach]

Have you asked Fret what she's doing there?

I have. Wasted breath. She can't hear me with her head where it is.

 

[notabitail]

Well, that depends om how one views cats doesn't it.
I detest them. I would rather have rats.

I'm going to get Ribh and BY Bob to change your mind.