# My rat tried to kill my bird O_o



## Cherubim (Dec 6, 2007)

What gets rats to trigger kill mode when they're usually the sweetest little things? My bird is okay. He only took out like 3 feathers. Can you guys tell me more about the rat behavior of other animals? They won't bite our dogs or other animals.. Is it something about birds?


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## crys12065 (Jul 12, 2011)

Yes, in the wild rats will kill birds, so it's instinct for them. I have parrots and rats and never ever allow them in the same room together. I actually have a friend on another forum who had a rat kill her bird right in front of her. It was awful. 

The rats are in my bedroom and the birds in the living room. My bedroom door is closed when the rats have free range time and the birds are locked in their cages. I won't have them in the same room because it makes me to nervous. 

I am very happy your bird is ok, please don't allow them out together anymore, the ratties can't help their hunting instict with the birds.


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## cagedbirdsinging (May 28, 2012)

Rats are natural predators, so they can and will kill other animals if they view it as prey!

Usually our cats and dogs are not viewed as prey by the rats, but rather as a predator that is above them on the food chain. Birds are fair game.


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## Cherubim (Dec 6, 2007)

crys12065 said:


> Yes, in the wild rats will kill birds, so it's instinct for them. I have parrots and rats and never ever allow them in the same room together. I actually have a friend on another forum who had a rat kill her bird right in front of her. It was awful.
> 
> The rats are in my bedroom and the birds in the living room. My bedroom door is closed when the rats have free range time and the birds are locked in their cages. I won't have them in the same room because it makes me to nervous.
> 
> I am very happy your bird is ok, please don't allow them out together anymore, the ratties can't help their hunting instict with the birds.


I actually had no idea they were like that. I know almost everything else about them, but I have never heard of the bird thing until now. Wow, it's a shock to me. x_x


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## Cherubim (Dec 6, 2007)

cagedbirdsinging said:


> Rats are natural predators, so they can and will kill other animals if they view it as prey!
> 
> Usually our cats and dogs are not viewed as prey by the rats, but rather as a predator that is above them on the food chain. Birds are fair game.


Wow. Do they just kill or do they actually eat them?


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## cagedbirdsinging (May 28, 2012)

Cherubim said:


> Wow. Do they just kill or do they actually eat them?


Both.


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## Sugapot (Mar 3, 2013)

That is scary! I always thought they would go for birds - but wasn't sure...

My sister and I are both newly weds and we both don't have human kids - yet.

Her baby is a Parrot called Rocket. And then I have my 3 ratty boys. 

We always joke about having a play date for the cousins. 
(We will never really do it) 



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## Poisoned (Nov 17, 2012)

Rats are really not the soft loving squishies with everything that some people think.. Of course, nor are they bloodthirsty like others think. They're predators, and they're good at it. Anything smaller than them is usually fair game.. Though I've heard of rats attacking large birds. Rats are ferocious fighters, so the damage they can do to a smaller animal is not surprising - one giant momma wild rat won a fight with my German Shepherd a couple years ago. Before I could get them apart they'd fought all the way down the side yard, and being inexperienced as he was, he did not manage to hurt her. I wish I could have had a slow-mo video of it. It was actually very graceful to watch - she jumped a good 2-3 feet in the air many times attacking his face, and dodged his every move very well.. Got out of our fence, and then tried to fight her way back in to get to her babies before I secured him. I've seen wild rats kill and shred each other for food.. I'm always scared my mouse will get out and end up with one of the rats - he'd be dead so fast. 

As a rule, I do not mix rats with other small animals. Ever.


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## FiMarie (Jan 19, 2013)

My Tybalt is a ferocious hunter. He'll go after animals that are bigger than him. My boyfriend wanted to introduce his chinchilla to my rats and I told him it was a bad idea. He didn't believe me because they're so sweet and loving.... so he did it anyway. Tybalt's feet weren't even on the ground before he lunged. All I saw was a small champagne colored blur go at the chin, a big ball of gray jumped onto the bed to escape and Tybalt was sitting there with the biggest mouthful of fur. Has it been an animal with less fur, the chin would have been dead for certain. He went straight for the throat. My bunny hopped past his cage and he acted the same way. He's been around cats and dogs and, like somebody mentioned already, sees them as higher on the food chain. He just gets curious about them and wants to sniff and groom them.


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## Imthemomma (Nov 29, 2012)

Growing up we raised rabbits, and some feral domestic rats killed several of our rabbits. We thought at first it was maybe a weasel that was doing it. Until they were caught in the act. 


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## Muttlycrew (Dec 21, 2012)

Imthemomma said:


> Growing up we raised rabbits, and some feral domestic rats killed several of our rabbits. We thought at first it was maybe a weasel that was doing it. Until they were caught in the act.
> 
> 
> Sent from Petguide.com Free App


Really? Wow! That'd be impressive. What breed of rabbits? Normally rabbits are pretty vicious when attacked.






Rats are predators in the wild, so if they could catch a bird/mouse they definitely would love to eat it up!


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## Imthemomma (Nov 29, 2012)

They were mini lops, and when we caught them at it, it was in the middle of the night. Pretty gruesome actually  


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## WinonaGun42 (Feb 2, 2013)

I'm glad to hear that the rats didn't seriously hurt your bird. Glad he is ok. 

Birds trigger the predatory instinct, even in geriatric old rats. 
My new roommate had an African Grey parrot toward the end of my PEW boys' lifespan. This is not a small bird and was at least twice the size of the largest rat. The boys were having trouble getting around, so they were in an "old man" cage (A flatter, wider guinea pig cage). The parrot came over to look at the boys' cage during her "free time" (with the boys locked inside) and I had not seen the boys so active in such a long time. One was actually trying to hop and make a distraction, even though he could barely use his hind end, while the other was slinking around the cage corners in a "stalking" behavior. Luckily I noticed the behavior for what it was and took the parrot away before she got too close to the cage. I had previously seen the rats watching the bird earlier in the week, but I didn't think they would actively try to go after her. I would have never thought that rats so old, would go after something that big. We took precautions not to have them in the same room together and made sure that there was no way the rats could slip under his door to get in her room, even though one had a lot of trouble walking.


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## Rat Daddy (Sep 25, 2011)

To address two issues my part wild attacked a pew mouse I was holding in my hand. She put her head down and charged down my arm, as she lunged, I turned my hand a got a really nasty bite. There was not debate, that bite would have killed the mouse.

As to birds, Fuzzy Rat tried to be nice to my parrot, she meandered up to her, lamly and inquisitively, but my parrot was wild caught and is anything but tame. I can manage him with commands and carry him on my shoulder, but he won't let anyone hold him in their hands. When Fuzzy Rat got close enough he struck at poor Fuzzy's head... There was an awful eep-squalk and the parrot recoiled and flew back to it's cage with blood coming out of it's beak. In the last split second when the parrot clamped down on Fuzzy Rat's head Fuzzy Rat bit him in the tongue...

The bird sometimes still squawks at the rats and takes an aggressive posture, but I keep them apart, once Fuzzy Rat snagged one of the parrot's feet and tried to drag him through the bars, but let go without doing any harm. A couple months ago the parrot nipped my ear and Fuzzy jumped from the table and charged up my arm with murder in her eyes.

If you guys ever saw the bite that my part wild laid on my hand (by accident) and the way she tore up my neighbor's hand (on purpose) you would have a lot more respect for your furry little friends. My part wild was a stone cold killer if she wanted to be, or the warmest sweetest pet if she loved you. 

Rats are sweet loving pets because they want to be, not because they have to be. They are far from helpless little animals.


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## trematode (Sep 8, 2012)

My rats stick their nose out of the cage and hiss at the cat. They both bite when the cat gets too close. So I can imagine what they can do to a smaller critter...


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## Cherubim (Dec 6, 2007)

Rat Daddy said:


> To address two issues my part wild attacked a pew mouse I was holding in my hand. She put her head down and charged down my arm, as she lunged, I turned my hand a got a really nasty bite. There was not debate, that bite would have killed the mouse.
> 
> As to birds, Fuzzy Rat tried to be nice to my parrot, she meandered up to her, lamly and inquisitively, but my parrot was wild caught and is anything but tame. I can manage him with commands and carry him on my shoulder, but he won't let anyone hold him in their hands. When Fuzzy Rat got close enough he struck at poor Fuzzy's head... There was an awful eep-squalk and the parrot recoiled and flew back to it's cage with blood coming out of it's beak. In the last split second when the parrot clamped down on Fuzzy Rat's head Fuzzy Rat bit him in the tongue...
> 
> ...


I know they aren't helpless but wow what an incident :S I have been keeping them in separate rooms recently..


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