Do you think moi girls have done a murder?

[Tippychoocks]

Not sure why I came over all yokel in the title but I felt I needed to

So, picture the crime scene. Patch of blood on the hen house floor (smallish, slightly larger that a 50p). Three girls with no evidence of injury and two chicks running with them who are also fine. No recent history of laying problems.

Evidence: spotted last week, Christopher (smallest hen) running round TWICE with a shrew and a baby mouse half down her neck. Greedy thing.

So have I gained some rodents do you think and was there murder done? Any other explanations?

I think they have.
I was impressed by how neatly mine cleaned up a dead baby bird on our patio last spring.

Christopher? Does your hen have a gender identity isshoo?

And the guilty party is.......Christopher, (probably...Ok I am no Miss Marple)

My girls are very good at "dispatching" and small rodents which venture near them. You could give them chalk and crime scene tape and sit back and watch the show!

Grimness it's only been shrews I think until now. I have spring cleaned th shed this morning and found no evidence of mice but we back onto fields so obviousy there are loads of small furries around.My ducks used to eat live frogs and the noise was awful, like screaming but squeaky. Ick.

I am keeping a close eye on the criminals.

it could wel be moider - but keep an eye out on their bottoms - we had an issue like that a while ago, where we thought it was just erica eatign mice, but it turned out to be Jessica having had a rupture when passing an egg.

You are going to get some lovely rich eggs...

Chickens are, by nature, not vegetarian.

Apologies for withdrawing the post above - I realise from time to time that MN is not a coffee morning and that I should stop giving out personal information that "outs" me!

Thank you nickelbabe, I will. It was nowhere near their laying box though so I hope for the best. Or worst if you are a shrew.

Colditz - do you want some? I am squeamish about mouse eggs. If I know they are moidering I make sure the eggs I pass on are those ones usually . So my family will have lovely rich eggs.

better than snail eggs

And if I have a good clear out in the garden and find mega orange ribbed slugs that they hoover up- vom - then the eggs get offered around the village for a while too

Mine cleared the garden of vine weevils....yum yum yum, the eggs tasted fab...I am obviously not squeamish

Am now worried as I put the chicks in with the big girls tonight but they are too young to perch properly so will prolly sleep on the floor. Have visions of mean rodents coming in and getting them.
I imagine they can sort themselves out though surely? This is why I hate having incubator (sp?) hatched chicks - they need their mummy to mind them!

the rats shouldn't get in the coop, just the run.
but if you're worried, check that the pop-hole shuts properly and that there are any gaps between the woodwork (eg in corners)

you could fill the joints and any gaps with taht expandable foam stuff. i hate the thought of rats, even worse if you think they might get into the chicks.

I don't think it's rats thanks nickel and the babies (quite big now really ) were/are fine. My girls have the back half of my shed partitioned off inside with aviary type mesh and with a pophole to go out so the only way in at night is in the gaps between the roof and joists iyswim. I had a massive sort of gardening stuff in the other half and found no mice evidence so I am guessing they caught one in the garden/field and ran in with it to much without sharing .

I certainly haven't seen any evidence of rats and I've lived in lots of places where I have, sadly . One of the girls even laid for a couple of days on my compst heap until I had stern words and both eggs were there - rats would have had 'em.