Backyard Poultry Forum

I have been a bit slack on the rat control recently and was surprised by this catch in the live trap.

How about that!!

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Cheerio, Rach
Blue Swedish Ducks

Interesting

Going by the picture it didn't have pink eyes

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Cheers, Milo.
I observe in fascination a worm move by peristaltic action through the freshly turned earth as I plant out my chilies. Grasping the Annelid I toss it to the waiting pack of beady-eyed vultures and watch the ensuing mayhem while laughing like a chook!

Ruby eyes and very dilute pigmentation.
I think it is Rattus rattus and so unlikely descended from any domesticated rat which are R. norvegicus.

Update.
These rodents trapped themselves in a feed bin. Along with another dilute specimen, specimens of the typical varieties are also present. My initial assumption was that the dilute specimen was homozygous for a recessive gene but perhaps the gene is incompletely dominant?

or they are just the expected homozygous percentage probability in a huge population

Hope not

or rattus x norvegicus (hopefully mules)?

The dog and I are making inroads into the rat problem. I have been setting five traps every night for the past month. Initially, I was catching four or five every night but the numbers have dwindled to about one per night in recent weeks. I am on acres with lots of shedding so expect always to have a few rats. My best control strategy is not to let them eat any of the poultry feed supplies. Might be time to get some automatic feeders.
Still, two pale mutants among fifty or sixty caught seems like a very high percentage.

treadle feeders were the best thing I did for my rat challenge. I put a bait block underneath each one - inaccessible to the chooks but there if rodents come looking for spillages. If you use the blue ones the chooks won't touch the resultant blue droppings but a lack of them indicates that the problem is under control.

What other forum could you see people discussing the genes of the rodents trapped