Rats and mice are unwanted and frequently unnoticed
guests in poultry houses. Because of the method of construction design, some
poultry houses provide easy access to rodents. Once inside the house, rodents
can readily burrow under dry manure, into dirt floors, into deep litter, inside
hollow walls, or into insulation in walls and ceilings. Regardless of where
rodents live, they can cause a number of different problems that usually cost
producers money. One of the most obvious areas of concern with rodents is
feed wastage. All types of rodents eat poultry feed and they waste and
contaminate more than they eat. Dollar losses from feed eaten or wasted are
difficult to estimate. It has been suggested by some authorities that one rat
eats approximately 25 pounds of feed per year. If that daily figure is converted
to a yearly estimate and if as many as 200 rats are present (not a heavy
infestation for a large poultry house) the yearly loss per house could reach 2.5
tons. If feed cost $175/ton, that cost would be $437.50 or $2.18 per rat. In
addition to feed eaten the feed wasted and contaminated significantly increases
the loss. With more than one poultry house or with a very heavy infestation the
cost would be much higher. Two and a half tons of feed seems like a sizable
amount to be losing, but it goes in small amounts throughout the year and is
difficult to trace. Some USDA estimates of the actual cost of rats wasting feed
and damaging the house and equipment are as high as $25 per rat per year.
Compare this with the estimate of $.25 to rid a poultry house of one rat.
