Rat.

Question for you experts... It might sound naive, but I'm not sure what they can do, although I've seen them devour a frog!!!

I found a large rats' tail in the run this afternoon. No blood, nothing except a dried tail. Is it possible, since yesterday evening, for my three girls to have killed and eaten a whole rat between them, taking into accound only two are currently eating properly, the third is moulting and off her food a little?

If so, would it be safe to eat the eggs, or is there any risk?

Thank you kindly....

Chez

Well, I suppose I wouldn't eat the eggs raw anyway ... and I'd probably work on the la la la principle that if I hadn't found the tail then I'd never had known.

I've seen ours kill and devour a mouse with great relish, very quickly.

Marionb

I wasnt sure if you were talking about hens or something else.. Shocked

Would a rat hang on long enough to be killed by hens... and would hens really eat a rat anyway??

Something I've never given any thought to actually.... Confused

Treacodactyl

Hens will eat a dead chicken quite happily, not sure if I would expect some bones left as well as the tail, is it possible something else dropped or left the tail?

I've not heard of anyone suffering from their hens eating a rat but if you've put rat poison down I would be more cautious.

Chickpea

I have never, ever seen signs of rats here in all the time I've had the girls. The run is completely enclosed, and I cannot see where one could have got in! I did wonder, as there is no blood, anywhere, and certainly nothing more than the tail, and that was dry, that it could have been in the bale of hay I distribute in the run...

I admit to being squeamish where rats are concerned, nothing else bothers me more... Sad

Treacodactyl

I would expect to see a fair sized hole and a worn run if there were rats, and the tell tail droppings. If there's no sign then it does sound like just the tail has turned up, perhaps in the hay like you say.

Chickpea

Thank you, that does rather put my mine at rest...

dpack

chooks cool

fenwoman

Chickpea wrote:

I hope you mean straw. You should not put hay anywhere near chickens because of the mould spores it releases when damp.It also harbours mites.

Just because you have never seen rats, don't mean you don't have them. IMO if you aren't baiting, you have rats.

Nanny

i think chickens will eat most anything really, certainly they will canabilise each other so why not a rat if they found it offensive

i saw my carolina duck catch, kill and eat a mouse in a few seconds so i think a chicken could deal with a rat

Chickpea

Yes fenwoman, I did mean straw. Embarassed

I don't bait, there's too much wildlife around, plus... The reason we don't appear to have had any problem with rats at all here is because we are overrun with badgers, and they kill and eat ANYTHING. It's also the reason we have no hedgehogs... Crying or Very sad

dpack

grannie gave her chooks dead rabbits to eat
chooks could kill a rat
seems likely they done it

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