Rodents: Part 2

Photo courtesy of Wikipedia.com  Picture of House Mouse 

There are things you can do on a day-to-day basis to decrease the number of rodents on your property, or keep them from setting up shop.  Many people have other animals or pets that they house along with their chickens, and prefer not to use bait.  Here are some of the things you can do, without using bait, to reduce rodent populations.

1.  Get rid of places for rodents to hide and nest.  Yes, it is time for spring cleaning! 

• Throw away or store empty feed bags.
• Remove loosely piled building materials, miscellaneous equipment and loose garbage.  Anything that rodents can hide or nest in.
• Keep grass cut neatly at least 3 feet around the coop and buildings.  This is called an apron.  Rodents don’t like to be out in the open, and helps in detecting any new rodent burrows.
• Remove weeds- weeds give rodents food, water, nesting material, and cover from predators.

2.  Remove access to food.

• Clean up spilled feed.
• Always store feed in a covered, metal container.  30 and 55-gallon industrial drums are great for storing feed and can often be purchased from farm-supply dealers.  If a metal drum cannot be found, use a metal trash can with a tight lid.
• Reduce feed spills by placing feeders so the lip of the feeder is around the height of the average sized bird’s back.  The best way to do this is to hang the feeders.

3.  Remove water sources

• Eliminate sources of water, such as leaky taps, open water troughs, sweating pipes, and open drains.
• Drinkers should be removed from sitting on the ground for easy mice/rat access.  The lip of the drinker should be at the level of the average birds back.  Taking drinkers off the ground will also help with water sanitation, and decrease the amount of water spilled onto the ground.
• At night, you may want to remove the bird’s water, unless it is very warm and muggy.  Birds don’t often drink water at night, and rodents are generally nocturnal.

If a rodent population is already established on your property, doing just the things mentioned above won’t solve your problem.  Consider a population-reduction program, the topic of our next post!

Resources:

A Practical Guide for Managing Risk in Poultry Production.  2011.  Robert L. Owen, Editor.  Published by the American Association of Avian Pathologists.

“Rodent Control: 7 ways to keep mice and rats out of the coop” Mike Wilhite

http://www.hobbyfarms.com/livestock-and-pets/rodent-control-tips.aspx

Animal Damage Management, Dept. of Entomology, “Controlling rodents in Commercial Poultry Facilities” Judy Loven and Ralph Williams, Purdue University, Publication ADM-3-W

Rodent Control in Livestock and Poultry facilities, G.A. Surgeoner

http://www.thepoultrysite.com/articles/824/rodent-control-in-livestock-and-poultry-facilities

“What you need to know about rodent control” Weibe ban der Sluis

http://www.worldpoultry.net/Broilers/Health/2012/8/What-you-need-to-know-about-rodent-control-WP010709W/

Free Webinar and Twitter Chat!

USDA APHIS is holding a Free Webinar and Twitter chat to answer some of your questions about poultry keeping on August 19, 2014!  Please see the flier!

Rodents part 1: About rodents and how to recognize that they are around your farm

The most common rodents around livestock and farms are the house mouse (Mus musculus), the Norway rate (Rattus norvegicus), and roof rat (Rattus rattus).  They are difficult to eliminate from your property, even for pest control professionals.

Image taken from: “Controlling rodents in Commercial Poultry Facilities” Judy Loven and Ralph Williams, Purdue University Extension Article.

Why Control Rodents?

A) They carry diseases.  Mice and rats can carry up to 45 diseases transmitted to poultry and humans.  Some of these diseases include bordeltellosis, leptospirosis, erysipelas, salmonellosis, fowl pox, fowl cholera (pasteurellosis), trichinosis, toxoplasmosis, and rabies.  Rodents can also spread disease from a contaminated to non-contaminated area via their feet, fur, droppings, urine, saliva and blood.

B) Rodents can attract predators to your farm:  High numbers of rodents are a food source that can attract foxes, coyotes, raccoons, skunks, dogs, and cats that can contribute to disease problems.

C) They can damage buildings and insulation.  Rats and mice can chew through rubber, aluminum, cinder blocks, plastic, wood, improperly cured concrete and wool.  They can even start fires when chewing through electrical wires.

D) They consume and contaminate feed.  100 rats can consume over 1 ton of feed in a year, and contaminate the feed with droppings, urine, and hair.

Mouse and Rat Facts:

1. They are nocturnal and highly reproductive- In ideal conditions, rats and their offspring and produce 20 million young in 3 years, and mice reproduce even faster.
2. Rats can jump as high as 3 feet, and as far as 4 feet.
3. Rodents can drop from heights of over 50 feet without being injured.
4. Rats can swim half a mile in open water, and can tread water for three days.
5. Mice and rats don’t like to go far from their nest.  Rats wander around a maximum of 148 ft from the nest, and mice 30 ft.
6. Rats need water daily, while mice can live 2-4 days without water.
7. Rodents prefer cereal grains, but will also eat garbage, insects, meat (they can antagonize your chickens and kill chicks), fruits and vegetables, and manure.
8. Mice eat small portions and feed sporadically making as many as 20-30 short visits to food at night.  Rats tend to get their daily food at one or two locations.
9. Rodents don’t like exposed spaces.  They often travel in contact with a wall or other objects, can climb rough walls, and travel along utility wires.
10. Rats can squeeze through small spaces of a half inch, and mice through quarter inch spaces.
11. Mice produce 40-100 droppings per night and rats about 20-50 droppings.



Image taken from: “Controlling rodents in Commercial Poultry Facilities” Judy Loven and Ralph Williams, Purdue University Extension Article.

Signs of a rodent infestation:

Sounds: Gnawing, climbing noises in walls, squeeks

Droppings: Found along walls, behind objects, and newar food supplies.  Rat droppings are bean sizes, and mice droppings are rice sized.

Burrows:  Rat burrows – fresh digging around foundations, through floorboards into wall spaces.  In areas where the ground is soft, mice can also dig tunnels and burrow in the ground.

Runs:  Look for dust free areas along walls and behind storage material.

Gnawing marks:  Look for wood chips around boards, bins and crates.  Fesh gnawing marks will be pale in color.

Rodent Odors:  Persistent musky odors are a positive sign of infestation.

Rodent sightings:  Daylight sigting of mice is common.  Rats are seen in the daylight only if populations are high.  There are approximately 25 mice or rats for every one that is seen.

Next Blog…

We will talk about how to control and prevent rodent populations!

Resources:

Dr. Mark Bland DVM, MS, DACPV, Cutler Associates International

“Rodent Control: 7 ways to keep mice and rats out of the coop” Mike Wilhite

http://www.hobbyfarms.com/livestock-and-pets/rodent-control-tips.aspx

Animal Damage Management, Dept. of Entomology, “Controlling rodents in Commercial Poultry Facilities” Judy Loven and Ralph Williams, Purdue University, Publication ADM-3-W

Rodent Control in Livestock and Poultry facilities, G.A. Surgeoner

http://www.thepoultrysite.com/articles/824/rodent-control-in-livestock-and-poultry-facilities

“What you need to know about rodent control” Weibe ban der Sluis

http://www.worldpoultry.net/Broilers/Health/2012/8/What-you-need-to-know-about-rodent-control-WP010709W/

Prevent Bringing Diseases Home to Your Birds

The best part about spring, summer, and fall is that farmers markets, bird swaps, and fairs are up and running again.  The bad part?  You can bring diseases home to your feathered friends from the birds you encounter or acquire at these fun places.

There are things you can do to help keep your birds healthy!

If you come in contact or are around other poultry:

1) Take a shower when you get home, and change your cloths/shoes before going around your birds. 

2) Wash your car in a car wash on your way home.  When you and your car visit places that have a lot of different birds, its not just you that carries disease. 

3) Better yet, keep designated clothes and shoes for when you work with your birds! 

Why?  You can carry diseases on your cloths, shoes, and car from birds/products that you visit or come in contact with.  Imagine a person that is sick, sneezes on their hand, and touches the doorknob someone is going to use after them.  Disease is transmitted via the doorknob.  You essentially become the doorknob between the sick bird and your birds, and you have the potential to carry disease home.  

What if you come home with a new addition?

1) Keep your new birds separated from the birds you already have for a month.  This is called a quarantine period.

2) Take care of the birds you already have first, then take care of your new birds second.

3) Wash your hands before and after working with each group of birds, not only for their safety, but for yours as well.

4) Have designated shoes for each group of birds.

Why?  If the new birds have a contagious disease, they will most likely show symptoms within the first month.   You can try to prevent spreading the disease to the birds you already have.