Will chickens eat voles/shrews?

[JoeInPA]

Every year usually around early spring I have a problem with voles and (what I'm told are) short tailed shrews. They are like tiny, mouse sized moles. They make a disaster out of my yard, tunneling through the whole the thing.

With the warm weather we've had it seems the shrews and voles have arrived early and already begun tunneling around my yard. I noticed some of the tunnels around my chickens' run. That got me thinking, would the chickens kill or eat the voles or shrews if they saw one? I certainly wouldn't complain if they did!

 

[Isaac 0]

They will sure kill them, They flap them around with there beaks until they are stone cold dead. Mine never eat them though.

 

[R2elk]

Every year usually around early spring I have a problem with voles and (what I'm told are) short tailed shrews. They are like tiny, mouse sized moles. They make a disaster out of my yard, tunneling through the whole the thing.

With the warm weather we've had it seems the shrews and voles have arrived early and already begun tunneling around my yard. I noticed some of the tunnels around my chickens' run. That got me thinking, would the chickens kill or eat the voles or shrews if they saw one? I certainly wouldn't complain if they did!

It will depend on your chickens. When I had Light Brahmas, they would actively hunt mice and voles. I assume my current chickens also will catch them. I don't see them actively hunting them but I also don't see any evidence of the mice and voles in the coop.

My guineas will opportunistically catch and eat mice and voles. Fortunately for me, I don't have any shrews around.

 

[JoeInPA]

Well I'm sure hoping that my chickens will kill the little pests. I've tried all kinds of things to get rid of them and nothing seems to work. Occasionally my one dog will catch one but not often.

 

[vantain]

Mine killed three shrews, but did not eat them. In fact, once they were dead, they stayed clear of the body until I removed it from the pen. They were also making a racket until I removed it.

It's my understanding that the shrews likely die of heart failure, more than being pecked to death. They have a crazy high metabolism and heart beat. The chickens chasing it is enough to kill them.

One actually fought back, and tore up one of my hens comb.

 

[Pennys Mama]

Every year usually around early spring I have a problem with voles and (what I'm told are) short tailed shrews. They are like tiny, mouse sized moles. They make a disaster out of my yard, tunneling through the whole the thing.

With the warm weather we've had it seems the shrews and voles have arrived early and already begun tunneling around my yard. I noticed some of the tunnels around my chickens' run. That got me thinking, would the chickens kill or eat the voles or shrews if they saw one? I certainly wouldn't complain if they did!

I had them find one once and it looked like an Indy500 race, they tore it to spreads and relay raced with it for over an hour, I think everybody got a piece of that little guy!!! So, my answer would be a solid YES.

 

[PirateGirl]

My cat catches them daily in summer, but I don't think the chickens have ever actually killed one, they do raise a ruckus when critters get in their run with them, but I don't know that they've ever done anything about it, unfortunately.

 

[aart]

Have read something about shrews being toxic.

 

[Pennys Mama]

Have read something about shrews being toxic.

Hadta Google it...

 

[Morrigan]

We have what's called "pocket" gophers where I live. Small, but they make an utter mess out of the yard and garden with their tunneling. On two occasions I've seen my chickens kill and eat, in part, at least a very small gopher (probably a baby) and a mouse. I wish they more interested in hunting them, but when the gophers get bigger the chickens just ignore them. It's comical really, a chicken will be eating some mash or some fodder, and a gopher will just pop and and start eating right along beside them.

One of the great mysteries to me is how the gophers know to dig their tunnel so it pops up exactly next to the food dish. I move the food dish every couple of days, put into a top a paver, etc. and those gophers keep finding them. Even when I suspend the food dish on a hanger, the gopher tunneled up immediately under the suspended dish, I guess to wait for fall-out bits.