Rat Attack & Egg Incubation.

We had a Rat attack at our chicken coop. Looks like our coop is not predator proof. Being the first coop that we built, we did not take all necessary precaution. Also it's a "simply built" chicken coop, built from recycled / used materials. The material that we bought were the zinc roof, netting and nails. This is also part of our trial project.

The Rat attack cost us 7 eggs that was brooding by one of our hens. It was gone one morning, totally gone, with nothing left, not even broken shell. We saw some holes dug on the floor (coop is on clay floor) and the drainage area. Had sealed off the rear section that have wide wooden fencing with small mesh netting. Set up a rat trap. Let's see if we manage to can any. Even the ping-pong balls (4) were missing. Had used it to fool the chicken to use the nesting compartment. Now it makes me wonder if it's a rat, snake or even monitor lizard. We had also brought in our 2 cats and 2 puppy to help. They managed 3 rats during the first week. We had also resorted to collecting the eggs to test out our incubator.

We also had some unfortunate losses. One of our puppies died and one cat missing. After incubating for 19 days, I find only 1 egg is doing well. After 19 days of incubation, it started to 'rock'. We then did a 'lock down' and set the egg at 37.8 C & 70% humidity. Let's hope for a successful hatch.