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Rats

.........

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We have small indoor aviaries in our bird room and I've recently been thinking since the room is dedicated to the birds already why shouldn't I just give them the whole thing as a room aviary?

The problem is that there is rats, according to other family members there has always been a rat problem on and off. They get rid of the rats but we live very rurally where rats that live outside are common, so since they can get in somewhere they will just keep getting in. I'd leave traps up in non bird accessible areas all the time but the problem is what if the rats got to my birds first?

How dangerous are rats to birds? I know germs and disease makes them dangerous but what about the rats actually hunting and killing my birds?
 

April

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The risk of your birds being hurt by the rats is sadly high. On one of my fb groups someone in an apartment in New York had a rat grab their budgie by the wing and drag it through the cage bars and into its hole in the wall. It was one of the most horrifying and upsetting things I'd ever read it still makes me shudder thinking about what the poor innocent budgie went through in its last moments of life.
Rats can be so very vicious to smaller vulnerable Animals. I'd do everything in your power to stop this rat problem before tragedy happens.
 

Shezbug

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You don’t want rats in your home ever and certainly no where near your birds. They’re evil things and awesome hunters.
Rats will attack anything they can or anything they feel threatened by and are much better at it than mice in my experience. (Only ever had one in my house and that was an escaped or abandoned pet- the pretty spotty sort not the horrid looking feral brown ones but I never noticed any difference in behaviour between the two)
Every morning when I worked at a horse farm I watched the rats being caught and killed by a dog and cat team- if ever one of the team wasn’t fully paying attention you could be sure that one of them would be rushed at and attacked by a rat. I did also tend to a few horses with rat chew marks on their backs.
They’re not as concerned about people as mice are and I have certainly heard of rats being a deathly problem for aviary birds and other outdoor animals also for homeless, infants or drunks.
 

rocky'smom

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On. YouTube go watch Shawn Woods channel. Rats are super dangerous for all animals including humans. I have friend that years ago live in a rural setting. Her baby brother was asleep in his crib in house that was not supposedly infested with vermin. He was 2 months old and a rat bit off a part of his nose, upper lip and ear lobe. The board of health family and child services pulled all kids out of that home. They all had hana virus and some type of infections. The house was rental and burned to ground. Yet they never saw a rat in the house.
She carries scars and brother had to have plastic surgery until he was in his 20's .
 

Budgiessss

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We have small indoor aviaries in our bird room and I've recently been thinking since the room is dedicated to the birds already why shouldn't I just give them the whole thing as a room aviary?

The problem is that there is rats, according to other family members there has always been a rat problem on and off. They get rid of the rats but we live very rurally where rats that live outside are common, so since they can get in somewhere they will just keep getting in. I'd leave traps up in non bird accessible areas all the time but the problem is what if the rats got to my birds first?

How dangerous are rats to birds? I know germs and disease makes them dangerous but what about the rats actually hunting and killing my birds?
Omg! Those stupid rats :(. Thankfully I have a mouse problem not rat but I recommend using strong smelling dog treats as a bait for any traps you set. I keep catching mice with my dogs treats!
 

flyzipper

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Rats are horrible and need to be killed asap.

I had one in my home last year and its intelligence relative to mice made it very difficult to deal with.

I'm not a fan of poison bait, but after trying 3 different traps (which it effectively avoided, or triggered for the bait without being caught) I had no choice.

Screenshot_20211001-025407 (1) (Large).png
(yes, it's on my kitchen counter)
 

Shezbug

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Mockinbirdiva

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Good YouTube video on this bucket trap working- 14 minute video an d a link to purchase or look on Amazon

 

Pat H

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Rats are horrible and need to be killed asap.

I had one in my home last year and its intelligence relative to mice made it very difficult to deal with.

I'm not a fan of poison bait, but after trying 3 different traps (which it effectively avoided, or triggered for the bait without being caught) I had no choice.

View attachment 401258
(yes, it's on my kitchen counter)
Oh, I'm so sorry! Remember to use the larger tie-up bait chunks, so they don't carry off the smaller pieces to hoard and eat later. Farm and Fleet USED to carry an 'extra potent' type of bait, that could kill them more quickly than the normal kind... but haven't been able to find that again.
 

flyzipper

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Remember to use the larger tie-up bait chunks
Agreed.

In Canada, we can only buy it in bait boxes that can't be accessed by kids and pets, but my rat wouldn't exactly fit inside the thing...
1642461690990.png
(yes, that's marketed as the rat size, not mouse size)

After it tried to make off with the entire box, I removed the block, and attached it to a 2x4...
1642461770815.png
... that's its last supper.
 

Destiny

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You put water and a splash of oil in the bottom of the bucket and let the germ ridden destructive pests drown.
In my opinion, drowning traps are in the same category as glue traps. They are a horrible and cruel way to kill any animal, rat or otherwise. It can take hours for the trapped animal to die, slowly and painfully. Even if you hate rats, that is a cruel death.

I am not against pest control, when necessary, but I support using humane methods that are quick, as painless as possible, and have a low risk of harming non-target animals.

On a related note, poison bait is also problematic for a couple of reasons, including the risk of secondary poisoning. Small animals like rodents may be eaten by larger predators after eating poison bait or move the bait somewhere accessible by family pets, non-target wildlife, or kids. Birds of prey, like owls, can become secondary casualties of poison intended for the mice or rats that they hunt. Before using poison bait, please do your research and use safe baiting techniques and poisons with a low risk of secondary poisoning. Collect uneaten bait after a reasonable length of time, and be sure to store (and dispose of) poison bait in a safe manner.
 

Pat H

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Agreed.

In Canada, we can only buy it in bait boxes that can't be accessed by kids and pets, but my rat wouldn't exactly fit inside the thing...
View attachment 401264
(yes, that's marketed as the rat size, not mouse size)

After it tried to make off with the entire box, I removed the block, and attached it to a 2x4...
View attachment 401265
... that's its last supper.
GOOD JOB!
 

Shezbug

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In my opinion, drowning traps are in the same category as glue traps. They are a horrible and cruel way to kill any animal, rat or otherwise. It can take hours for the trapped animal to die, slowly and painfully. Even if you hate rats, that is a cruel death.

I am not against pest control, when necessary, but I support using humane methods that are quick, as painless as possible, and have a low risk of harming non-target animals.

On a related note, poison bait is also problematic for a couple of reasons, including the risk of secondary poisoning. Small animals like rodents may be eaten by larger predators after eating poison bait or move the bait somewhere accessible by family pets, non-target wildlife, or kids. Birds of prey, like owls, can become secondary casualties of poison intended for the mice or rats that they hunt. Before using poison bait, please do your research and use safe baiting techniques and poisons with a low risk of secondary poisoning. Collect uneaten bait after a reasonable length of time, and be sure to store (and dispose of) poison bait in a safe manner.
Agree with many of your points but not all… drowning is not at all slow if done with a little extra thought put into the trap set up - water alone is quite cruel and slow especially when trapping rodents, not enough water drags the situation out, done with water alone it will be as slow as a death caused by rodents to other small caged animals!
That’s why we use the oil on top of the water- rodents can literally swim for days non stop… oil soaks into the fur very fast and drags them down, it drowns them pretty fast, much faster than many would think.
There’s unfortunately no fail safe way to ensure every pest caught is killed in a split second (like we’d like to imagine) regardless of choice of trap- they don’t all work 100% of the time no matter how they’re designed.
Poisons and glue traps would have to be the slowest most painful pest killers that I’m aware of- I don’t ever use either.
Snap traps being my preferred choice can unfortunately also fail and cause hours of fear and pain- even causing some rodents to chew off their own legs or turn them into a living meal for their family members and neighbours.
The unfortunate thing is that there’s no perfect way to kill anything, pests need to be removed from our homes and living spaces for everyone’s safety.
In an ideal world they wouldn’t be a problem… that’s not reality though.
 

Shannan

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For Rats I would seriously consider bringing in the experts. They are trained to complete the task timely and humanely while being responsible for limiting the chance of collateral damage. And please please please make absolutely positively sure that any poisons are safely stored. My sister's dog passed away due to rat poison and it was absolutely heartbreaking. I am thankful that despite the fact we live a a very very rural area, we have limited rats (of course I do have plenty of cats so maybe....) I also do not discourage the rat snakes, small hawks, owls and other animals that find them crunchy and good with ketchup.....
 

Sparkles!

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For the sake of your health, all non pet mice and rats need to be killed on sight and an appropriate sanitation program implemented immediately.

I never enjoy a living sentient creature suffering. Risk outweighs any emotion in the case of potentially lethal pathogens, however, and a hard stance is needed when dealing with non-pet rodentia.

I have lost patients to rodent borne disease. Death is a very real, literal possibility, from these vectors. And you cannot visibly distinguish if a rodent is carrying a deadly bacterium/spirochete/virus/mycelium. Treat them all as if they are carrying plague, hantavirus, leptospirosis, streptobacillus moniliformus, salmonellosis, and a plethora of other nasties.

If a glue trap is what it takes to kill it; use it. Whatever is quickest. Do not touch any carcasses. And do not release them alive.
 

Pat H

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Again... shine a black light on the areas around your house... you'll take immediate action when you see their pee trails!
 

.........

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Just to clarify, there is no rat problem currently. The question was in a hypothetical situation where there was a rat problem, and either I had not noticed or the rat had not fell for the traps yet, and I was wanting to know if it posed a serious danger to my birds that the rat would hunt the birds, which I found the answer to and I will not be taking that risk (their aviary they are in currently is rat proof, and I will figure something else out than a room aviary).
 
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