Ep262 - The Rodent Menace: Protecting Your Flock from Rats and Mice with Peter Brown

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Sep 15, 2025

Join veterinarian Peter Brown, an expert on poultry healthcare, as he teams up with co-host Frank Bradley to tackle the rodent menace threatening your flock. They explore how rats, particularly Norway and Roof rats, can devastate farms by spreading diseases and damaging infrastructure. Peter shares vital strategies for rodent control, including effective traps and biosecurity measures. With humorous anecdotes, they highlight the importance of pest management to ensure the health and safety of your poultry.

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ADVICE

Deny Food And Shelter

Deny rodents food and shelter to control infestations by rat-proofing buildings and removing feed left out overnight.
Use shade netting over runs to block droppings and keep people off your property to reduce disease risk.

ANECDOTE

When Control Slips, Rats Explode

Kenny describes staying on top of rats for years using shooting, traps, and poison to keep numbers low.
A month off for bronchitis let populations explode and made him nauseous at the sight of so many rats.

INSIGHT

Read Their Trails Not Their Tracks

Rats navigate by touch and scent more than eyesight, leaving oily rub marks along repeat paths.
Spotting these trails, burrows, and wall marks reveals their movement and where to place control measures.

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In this episode of Bred to Perfection, we dive into one of the biggest challenges breeders face—controlling and eliminating rats and mice. These pesky rodents can wreak havoc on your farm by contaminating feed, damaging infrastructure, and even threatening the health of your birds. Join us as we discuss the different types of rats—Norway rats and Roof rats—and how they behave around your farm. Learn about the diseases they can spread, the damage they can cause, and most importantly, effective strategies for controlling and preventing infestations. From rodent-proofing your farm to using natural predators, we've got tips and tricks to help you keep your strain safe and your farm running smoothly. Tune in to ensure your birds stay healthy and your farm stays rodent-free!

Make sure to follow and watch our future shows. We plan to dive deep into the world of breeding and genetics, nutrition and health management, and provide essential tips, so you too can create high quality strains. Whether you're breeding domestic chickens, gamefowl, or various types of livestock, this show is for you.

Join us on Bred to Perfection Live, Friday's at 6pm PST or 9pm EST on YouTube, as we discuss the benefits of creating your own strain.

See ya there!

Kenny Troiano

Founder of "The Breeders Academy"

We specialize in breeding, and breeding related topics. This includes proper selection practices and the use of proven breeding programs. It is our mission to provide our followers and members a greater understanding of poultry breeding, poultry genetics, poultry health care and disease prevention, and how to improve the production and performance ability of your fowl.

If you are interested in creating a strain, or improving your established strain, you are in the right place.

We also want to encourage you to join us at the Breeders Academy, where we will not only help you increase your knowledge of breeding and advance your skills as a breeder, but improve the quality and performance of your fowl.

If you would like to learn more, go to: https://www.breedersacademy.com