Rats manipulating eggs Rat attacking feed bag Rat on the alert When rodents eat feed, they tend to defecate in it. Your chickens may ingest the feces and that can make your flock ill with salmonella or other bacteria. Second, rats will eat eggs and kill young birds. Rats are also excellent swimmers. They can swim up to half a mile in open water, travel through sewer lines against substantial currents, and tread water for up to 3 days .They can fall 50 feet without serious injury and can jump vertically up to 3 feet. Rats usually feed once or twice during the night. They have a home range of approximately 100 feet and often live in colonies, with several rats sharing the same feed and water source. Rats reach sexual maturity at 2 to 3 months of age and have a gestation period of 21 to 25 days. The young are weaned at 3 weeks old, often just before the arrival of a new litter. A female can mate as soon as one day after giving birth. If fertilisation does not occur, she wi