shrews

[diane3304]

My backyard seems to have many shrews. My cat catches many, so I know they're there. Are they a danger to my 3 chickens?

 

[giasmom]

First Welcome to BYC. I wouldn't think they would bother the chickens any.

 

[#1California Chick]

Welcome to BYC!!!

Actually, when your chicks get a little bigger, the shrews better watch out!!! Chickens will eat mice, so I would think that shrews are endangered also!!!

Good Luck!!

Cindy

 

[Enchanted Sunrise Farms]

Okay, what is a shrew? i've been called a shrew, but i don't think that is what you're talking about.

 

[~*Sweet Cheeks*~]

Another Washingtonian here. Shrews are little rodant like that look like a tiny mole with the pointy little nose but instead of digger feet they have feet and legs like a little mouse.

My cats catch them and play with them till they're dead but never eat them. I heard they're poisenous.

Anyone with chickens that eat shrews?

Info from wiki:
Shrews are small, mouse-like mammals of the family Soricidae. Although their external appearance is generally that of a long-nosed mouse, the shrews are not rodents and not closely related: the shrew family is part of the order Soricomorpha. Shrews have feet with five clawed toes, unlike rodents, which have four. Shrews are also not to be confused with either treeshrews or elephant shrews, which belong to different orders.
All shrews are comparatively small, most no more than mouse size. The largest species is the House Shrew (Suncus murinus) of tropical Asia which is about 15 cm long and weighs around 100 grams[citation needed]; several are very small, notably the Etruscan Shrew (Suncus etruscus) which at about 3.5 cm and 2 grams is the smallest living terrestrial mammal.

Shrews are unusual among mammals in a number of respects. Unlike most mammals, some species of shrew are venomous. Shrew venom is not conducted into the wound by fangs, but grooves in the teeth. The venom contains various compounds and the contents of the venom glands of the American short-tailed shrew are sufficient to kill 200 mice by intravenous injection. One chemical extracted from shrew venom may be potentially useful in the treatment of blood pressure while another compound may be useful in the treatment of neuromuscular conditions and migraines.[5]Also, along with the bats and toothed whales, some species of shrew use echolocation. Unlike most other mammals, shrews lack a zygomatic bone (also called the jugal), and therefore have an incomplete zygomatic arch.