4m x 3m Omlet pen, cube, new auto door still boxed and coop light

[darthwenger]

I've been watching my Eglu closely recently as we must have a family of rats as I noticed 5/6 baby rats running around the run the other evening (caught a couple of them last night in traps)

 

This morning, a little mouse (it was def a mouse and not a little rat) it ran into the run and watched both my chooks go mad and grab the mouse, I rushed out with some corn to tempt the chooks to let me have it just as one of my chooks swallowed the mouse! (the mouse looked dead and was hanging floppy) MY chook has been ok since (and about 3 hours later they killed a baby/small rat in the run also but I managed to scoop it out quickly)

 

Has anyone ever seen their chook eat a mouse or kill a rat? I'm worrying as the farm I back onto and my neighbour both use poision boxes and I'm worrying that my chooks might get poisioned by eatting or pecking mice/rats that might have been in the boxes.

Edited April 27, 2010 by Guest

[Cooks]

yes its quite common if they can get their beaks on them

[darthwenger]

yes its quite common if they can get their beaks on them

 

To eat mice or kill rats - or both?

[Cooks]

well kill mice, but I guess small baby rats are no different really, but adult rats can kill chickens so maybe best to up on the traps/bait boxes as you have a problem.

[darthwenger]

To be honest, we've always had a rat problem even before we had chickens - we back onto a farm, one neighbour has pygmy goats and the other stables with shetland ponies so rats have always been around. Luckily, have only ever seen the small rats in the Eglu as I put the Eglu on paving slabs to stop the big ones digging under and in.

 

I've got 2 traps but off to B&Q's tomorrow to buy a few more.

[Cooks]

It's a very good idea having it on slabs, as I agree you are in a situation there that you are going to have rats, you can only try to reduce the amount really , probably a good idea to make sure your food is removed at night and put out again in the morning to distract the little ones from wanting to get at it.

[darthwenger]

I've been taking the food in every night ever since I've had the chooks. I usually go and bring it in 4-ish as it gives the chooks a few more hours if they are hungry to peck up all the leftovers they have left on the floor. I did have a big problem with the tunnels when I first got the Eglu but slabbing the whole area has worked and the only one's that can get in are the smaller one's who can squeeze through the bars.

 

Its not so much the rat problem that I'm concerned with - its just that in the 2 years I've had them - I've never seen them kill a rat or the thing that has freaked me out, eat a mouse! def put me off eating the eggs for a few days