THE REALITIES ABOUT POULTRY The Modern Farm - The Realities About Poultry_Seco | Page 52

hulls or cocoa pods, both to camouflage them and to prevent rust. The traps will be more
effective if not touched with bare hands, as most predators have a keen sense of smell. Instead,
they should be handled with a stick, rubber gloves or tongs.
Rats, mongooses and snakes are only a problem when the birds are small. Rats often come up
through the earth floors, and the first signs of a rat attack may be unusually quiet chicks huddled
under the brooder heater or in a corner, or dead chicks with small bloody neck scratches. Snakes
will kill chicks if they can get into the brooder house. A treble fishhook in a dead bird can be left
as bait:
it: the snake will swallow the hooks as it gulps down the bird and eventually die. Holes
around doors and windows through which rats and snakes may enter should be plugged.
Coops or baskets may be used to house mother hens and chicks in order to reduce ch
chick
mortality due to predators, thieves,
thieves and rain. They also allow for separate feed and water
supplementation, although the inadequate feed usually provided in coops means that some
scavenging remains necessary.
Predator attack modes and control methods
Predator
Hawk
Attack mode
Control method
Hunt the hawk and keep chicks
 Picks up stray birds and weaklings.
 Attacks birds so that head and toe marks away from clear swoop areas.
are visible on the back. Often plucks
birds.
Rat, mongoose
Usually take more
m
than they eat, and stuff If allowed, use rat poison
chicks in holes for later consumption.
The farmer can also use rat glue
traps.
Snake
Will swallow eggs and chicks

Use fishhooks and any other
applicable methods of killing
snakes.

Plant
tobacco
a around
the
poultry farm. Tobacco is very
effective in keeping snakes
Page 51 of 163