When You Have Chickens...

[Jim Koepke]

You will likely have rats and/or mice who love all the grain that becomes scattered about.

We tend to only set out traps at night so the birds that come in during the day do not get caught in the traps.

Lately we have noticed something rather strange. We have found the traps sprung with a rather large dead rat nearby.

Could it be the rats get out of the trap after springing it but die from their injuries?

I am really not wanting to do a rat autopsy to find cause of death.

We do not use poison since owls in the area might eat a poisoned rodent and become ill or die. Also other animals may eat the bait.

jtk

[Mike Ontko]

I think it is possible that they could be pulling themselves out in an adrenaline fueled rush to escape, and then dying shortly after from the results of the impact. If you're using the large mousetrap style traps, it's also possible that your thieves in the night are wary and quick enough to keep their head from getting caught beneath the trap wire, but are still getting conked with enough force to fracture their skulls :( I don't know that rats suffer edema (bruising and swelling) the way humans do, but there could still be signs of fur loss or discoloration at the location of the strike.

[Izzy Camire]

This past summer we had something eating the brocoli in the garden. I finally put out a rat trap by the plants. Next day the trap was sprung and an 8 inch rat dead right beside it. I would say yes they can get out and then die.

[Lee Schierer]

Rats are pretty tough to kill. I would suspect that the trap has inflicted a lethal blow and the rat has thrashed around and managed to get free from the trap, but then succumbs to the wound.

[Brent Cutshall]

One time we come upon a chicken coop rat, what I call a "warf rat", that was a foot long and probably two feet with the tail. Shoot, I've seen smaller possums than that. The chickens were put out about him. There wasn't a rat trap that would get him, they'd snap and tear fur out, but he'd get away. This was before I taught myself how to trap, so we ended up poisoning him, found him out around the barn swoled up, got rid of him. Jim, there's a lot of plans for older, you could call 'em antique, traps for rats on Doctor Google and you are a woodworker, maybe you could build some and try them out. Watch out for possums too, we have more problems out of them than anything else. Biting chickens and such.

[Jim Koepke]

There wasn't a rat trap that would get him, they'd snap and tear fur out, but he'd get away. This was before I taught myself how to trap,

Well that could explain why the traps are sprung and empty in the morning sometimes.

Guess I need to learn a bit more about trapping. I have an antique trap that looks like it could take the leg off of a horse. It is kind of U shaped with two pairs of jaws with a trigger plate between them. It may be more for burrowing animals. The only way I have been able to set it is to squeeze it open in my vise and then set the trigger. Maybe a clamp could be used out by the chicken coup to set it.

jtk

[John K Jordan]

I have chickens (and guineas and peacocks and...) but saw evidince of a rat only one time in 13 years. I suspect the three barn cats and two regular visitors and two in/out cats keep the smaller varmints generally under control.

Can you get him in a live trap? Once the door comes down it would be difficult to escape. I've trapped numerous possums, racoons, and skunks with these. Bait with peanut butter and the cats don't seem to be attracted.

JKJ

[Jim Koepke]

I suspect the three barn cats and two regular visitors and two in/out cats keep the smaller varmints generally under control.

A good rat/mouse hunting cat is worth much more than it weight in traps.

jtk

[Wayne Lomman]

We have the somewhat unique problem of bettongs coming into the goat shed and stealing grain. They are a rare marsupial that is basically a cat sized kangaroo. They are not even supposed to exist where we live. We have had to fence the vegetable garden to keep them out of that as well. I can think of worse pests though. Cheers

[Pat Barry]

Well that could explain why the traps are sprung and empty in the morning sometimes.

Guess I need to learn a bit more about trapping. I have an antique trap that looks like it could take the leg off of a horse. It is kind of U shaped with two pairs of jaws with a trigger plate between them. It may be more for burrowing animals. The only way I have been able to set it is to squeeze it open in my vise and then set the trigger. Maybe a clamp could be used out by the chicken coup to set it.

jtk
Thats a gopher trap.

[Mike Henderson]

This is a bit off topic but the other thing that chickens attract is snakes. The snakes will swallow the eggs and then wrap themselves around a post to break the eggs. They will also swallow baby chicks.

I grew up on a chicken farm - I've seen both situations personally. (well, I've seen them with the egg lumps in their body - I haven't see them breaking the eggs. I have also seen them with baby chicks lumps.)

For some reason, to this day, I can't eat eggs except scrambled or as part of another dish. I simply can't eat eggs sunny side up.

Mike

[Jim Koepke]

Thats a gopher trap.

I kind of thought that even though we do not have gophers in this area. We have a lot of moles, but they are a much smaller animal and could likely sit on the trigger and be missed by both sets of pincer blades. My Macabee style gopher traps never seem to catch the moles. Since they don't bother the plants, they do not bother me anymore. My wife always tries to flood them out. I just chuckle to myself since it seems to have no effect.


For some reason, to this day, I can't eat eggs except scrambled or as part of another dish. I simply can't eat eggs sunny side up.

I do not eat as many eggs as I used to, but sunny side up with toast is one of my long time favorites. Sadly very few restaurant cooks can make a decent sunny side up egg. This is strange since menus with pictures almost always show some perfectly cooked sunny side up eggs. Of course those are likely pictures of plastic models of eggs taken in a studio.

Now I am hungry.

jtk

[Ken Combs]

This is a bit off topic but the other thing that chickens attract is snakes. The snakes will swallow the eggs and then wrap themselves around a post to break the eggs. They will also swallow baby chicks.

I grew up on a chicken farm - I've seen both situations personally. (well, I've seen them with the egg lumps in their body - I haven't see them breaking the eggs. I have also seen them with baby chicks lumps.)

For some reason, to this day, I can't eat eggs except scrambled or as part of another dish. I simply can't eat eggs sunny side up.

Mike

Thought I was the only one! Fried over well done, scrambled or hard boiled only. If an egg on my plate moves when I stick a fork in it, I'm done eating,

Oh, by the way: I stumbled across a scrambled egg recipe that makes them really good: Add a tablespoon of mayo for each egg, and as many dashes of hot sauce as you like. blend well (I use a little immersion blender) and cook. That is from Alton Smith's web site. By far the best I've eaten.

[Jim Koepke]

Oh, by the way: I stumbled across a scrambled egg recipe that makes them really good: Add a tablespoon of mayo for each egg, and as many dashes of hot sauce as you like. blend well (I use a little immersion blender) and cook. That is from Alton Smith's web site. By far the best I've eaten.

You do know that traditional mayo is just egg white and olive oil don't you?

jtk

[Jim Koepke]

Speaking of Sunny Side Up Eggs:

http://www.gocomics.com/strangebrew/2016/11/23

jtk

[John K Jordan]

This is a bit off topic but the other thing that chickens attract is snakes. The snakes will swallow the eggs and then wrap themselves around a post to break the eggs. They will also swallow baby chicks.

I grew up on a chicken farm - I've seen both situations personally. (well, I've seen them with the egg lumps in their body - I haven't see them breaking the eggs. I have also seen them with baby chicks lumps.)

For some reason, to this day, I can't eat eggs except scrambled or as part of another dish. I simply can't eat eggs sunny side up.

Mike

This summer I had two peacocks sitting on over 30 eggs. TWICE a big black snake interrupted the incubation and none of the eggs hatched. One snake was trying to swallow an egg but it was too big. The other had given up and was coiled around an egg, maybe thinking "it's mine, it's mine!"

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I'm designing a new nesting box for next year.

I caught one snake in the chicken house with an egg half in his mouth. Missed my chance for a great picture...

JKJ

[Todd Mason-Darnell]

May I recommend a bucket rat trap:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CcAHzadjxSI

Safe for birds and very effective. If you add some antifreeze to the water, it improves its effectiveness.

[Tony Zona]

... I've trapped numerous possums, racoons, and skunks with these. .....to be attracted.

JKJ

So, once you catch a skunk, alive, what do you do with it?

[Mike Henderson]

The other had given up and was coiled around an egg, maybe thinking "it's mine, it's mine!"

JKJ
Maybe thought it could break the egg by constricting around it.

Mike

[Ken Combs]

You do know that traditional mayo is just egg white and olive oil don't you?

jtk
All the recipes I've seen for homemade mayo specify Yolks only, no whites, some spices, usually mustard, oil, and acid (lemon or vinegar), salt and pepper.

Yeah, I could put all that stuff in the eggs, but mayo is easier.

[Jim Koepke]

All the recipes I've seen for homemade mayo specify Yolks only, no whites, some spices, usually mustard, oil, and acid (lemon or vinegar), salt and pepper.

Yeah, I could put all that stuff in the eggs, but mayo is easier.

Interesting, my recipe came from a friend long ago. Just now discovered there are different mayonnaise recipes depending on whether one wants to use the whites or yolks.

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jtk