Tired of feeding freeloaders

[SkyAJK]

You should measure your feed use. One quarter pound of feed per hen per day, ignore roosters unless you have a lot of them. Chances are the rats are feeding during the day. Mice, maybe less of a chance, rats, will dominate most hens and a lot of roosters. BTW it is illegal to rehome a rat. Drown them. Unless you are okay with them killing off song bird chicks, eating the wiring in cars, and killing smaller mammals like rabbits and squirrels.

My chickens kick and pick whatever they want to eat in their crumble soaked down feed - they get 100gm each. It is not illegal to "Rehome" rats over here, our council's stated many ways to get rid of rats and one of those ways is moving them to another place they will not survive. There are a large crows population where I release them. I can not bring myself to snap the living day light out of those rats, I would if I am brave enough.

The rats we caught the biggest size rare, but so far is the size of a 250ml coffee cup, most of them are smaller.

Those rats are only come out at night because we and our neighbours have dogs in the garden all day.

 

[chooki]

I was mostly irritated because I just thwarted the mice, then I saw the squirrels pilfering. I wouldn't care if it was scrapes, but feed cost money, lol.

I know ... I have 10 birds - 4 roosters plus 6 hens, each go through 120g -200g of feed a day, that adds up to half a ton a year!

 

[chooki]

I don't know about rats, but my roosters can swallow mice. I have witnessed my roosters devouring dead mice before.

 

[Al Gerhart]

I know ... I have 10 birds - 4 roosters plus 6 hens, each go through 120g -200g of feed a day, that adds up to half a ton a year!

call it 8 birds since you have four roosters, two pounds per day. So, what, 900 grams? But you are estimating 1200 to 2000 grams of feed per day?

You got rats eating the feed. There are some aussie feeders that are not too bad, inward swinging doors at least. One would pay for it self in a few months plus you would have less disease and pests coming into the flock.

 

[Al Gerhart]

I don't know about rats, but my roosters can swallow mice. I have witnessed my roosters devouring dead mice before.

They can eat mice and on occasion choke to death but it is rare. Rats, no way any chicken or even a turkey can get an adult rat down.

 

[Al Gerhart]

My chickens kick and pick whatever they want to eat in their crumble soaked down feed - they get 100gm each. It is not illegal to "Rehome" rats over here, our council's stated many ways to get rid of rats and one of those ways is moving them to another place they will not survive. There are a large crows population where I release them. I can not bring myself to snap the living day light out of those rats, I would if I am brave enough.

The rats we caught the biggest size rare, but so far is the size of a 250ml coffee cup, most of them are smaller.

Those rats are only come out at night because we and our neighbours have dogs in the garden all day.

Ah, an aussie. I suppose dropping a rat off in that territory is a death sentence for them anyway.

You won't know if the rats are eating feed unless you track your feed, quarter pound of feed per hen, count roosters as a half hen.