[chuckmad]

I was late getting home last night and went down to the chicken run to see if there were any eggs.  What did I find in run only two blooming rats scurrying around trying to get out. I suppose it serves me right, I will have to be more careful with the food and make sure it is taken in every single night (feel free to tell me off).
But on the funny side my OH and FIL thought they had built the all impenetrable coop as they had but the chicken wire under the ground a foot deep bent out away from the coop.

[joyfull]

rats are fantastic tunnelers 

[chuckmad]

Can they do any harm to the hens?
I think if my ladies had been up they would've told those rats what for?

[joyfull]

they can steal their eggs, but not sure about hurting fully grown hens.

[Thingy]

I have rats in my chicken areas. We just let them be if their is only one or two and control them if they get to stupid proportions .

I saw one the other day, and it was so beautifull. He was grey/brown with a white tum. I am biased though as I have pet rats  :happy:

The probably won't hurt a fully grown hen (I have seen a couple feeding alongside the hens) but they will take chicks and ducklings if you are not careful.

[nicky d]

never heard a wild rat being called beautiful before, its each to there own but i carnt understand anyone just leaving them be, they carry so many diseases why would you want them to run free round your chickens.   nicky

[Spana]

Some years ago and quite by chance i found rat tunnels in the bank of our lake.  I was planting water Lillies  and just looked back at the bank and saw them, you couldn't see them standing on top of the bank.  Anyway I waded over and had a look and it was like a horror movie.  One tunnel was stuffed with eggs, dead ducklings and dead and dying frogs and toads.   

If you ever see a rat there are probably many others watching you at that moment

[orchardlady]

If you've ever had rats in a shed there is nothing worse than when you go in and it's scurrying around trying to get away from you. I've now ejected them from the shed but I know they are still around. There have been rats at the bottom our gardens since long before I kept hens but I'm absolutly sure I am the only person in the street that has professional pest control on a regular basis.

A little gem of info about rats....Rats have no bladder control so are urinating wherever they go. Yuuuurrrrkkkkk..

[evie2]

I like fancy rats too Thingy but I'm out voted by the family

However I draw the line at wild rats because of their permanent piddling and the risk of infection they bring with them.  You have to remember they are not the same as pet ones, think of it this way, would you want a wild rat sitting on your knee while your watching tv at night?  

[Stef]

I have pet rats and asked around about the chicken/rat relationship out of interest.

Apparently a couple of chickens can take out a rat no problem - if they choose to. They just don't usually choose to! Having seen them play toad-of-war I am not surprised! I can imagine the stomping a rat would get!

Happily no rodent has tried our chickens and I am hoping the leccy fence will keep them out!

[RichardA]

My happy acre and my ducks are at home so it means that I have neighbours who whilst fantastic in many ways would soon be pointing a finger at me (perhaps in ignorance) if they thought any rat seen or imagined was living in my garden. So I keep them down with traps and poison as a control on numbers. My DIL loves pet rats and had three and she used to regularly bring them to stay and was very defensive of their reputation, but the day she found out she was pregnant they were given away to a good home. She is a small animal vet but at the end of the day no one likes to take chances on health when babies are concerned.
R

[Spana]

I dont enjoy killing anything but i wont have rats abouts.

We used to set traps and put poison down, but it always worried me that the dogs ,cats or chickens would somehow get it and its a rotten death.
I would set the traps in the hen run over night,went out one morning and found a robin in one
So i bought a Jack Russel puppy, shes 2 now and  brilliant at rat catching even working as a lone dog, its better with two dogs. 
 I once read that death is over in a second, its the time before thats the worry. With a JR its over in the blink of an eye instead of a horrible slow death from poison.
She gets the biggies that have escaped the cats, they get most of the half grown ones.

[alancane]

put a few traps out and some poison, the only good rat is a dead rat

I agree with Tom on this one and I am sure your ladies don't like them either.

[lightyears]

Ive had my first few of the year. i avoid poison and just shoot them, doesn't prolong the suffering that poison brings(or so im lead to believe) a good clean head shot and its done.

[Thingy]

Rats only carry two diseases: I know one of them is leptosporosis but I can'r remember the other one.

We only have one or two which, for a farm set up, is quite good. They don't harm my full grown hens and my hens can kill a rat.

They kill ducklings and chicks though so we take the broody muscovys in

Did you know there is no difference between wild rats and fancy rats in terms of behaviour. When I worked at the nature centre we had a nest of abandoned wild rats. We raised them (for an exhibit) and they grew up to be just as handleable as fancy rats.

And yes, they have no urinary sphinter, so they wee everywhere. Its so they can mark their trails when they walk