Feeding Rodents to Muscovy's

I've seen them gobble down a small mouse once or twice and give salamanders a good thrashing, but I'm worried about protein as I've had a recent coyote attack that's put me off of letting them out.
But this isn't about fencing woes and how a 5 foot fence, barbed wires and electric fencing is not enough.

It's about these Dam Squirrels that went into my greenhouse and stole the 80 peanut plants I just planted sunday.
I've wanted to catch rats with the water bucket technique for over a year now but I never had the heart to do it because of the chirpy squirrelie buddies.
I never thought about them digging up bulbs, and munching plants because I never see them do it. I for some reason was oblivious to what they did all day accept raid the duck food, and I really didn't mind.

I've built a slug motel to fatten slugs on dog poo for the summer when there not abundant, but I'm worried about protein in my ducks diet now that they will be spending much of their time in there oversized enclosure.
I've seen them go crazy for ground beef, but that way my ground beef. We don't have dog food our dogs eat offal sausages.

So now that I'm not friends with squirrels and our mice have turned into rats, Im just considering the issue of the slow death from drowning issue. But whether lived trapped or something else they have to serve a purpose other than compost fodder. Is the fur content an issue? I don't want to spend my sundays putting wet rat's through my commercial meat grinder but I'm sure i have an old blender. I could singe the fur off in a tlud biochar session, maybe if they were dried into a blood type meal i wouldn't be so iffy about the grinder.

I'm posting this cuzz im hoping someone has some knowledge about disease issues with vermin before i do what I'm aiming to do. I don't normally have such un thought out idea's and I'd never normally post them but this isn't really something you can find info about on a google search.

"I don't want to spend my sundays putting wet rat's through my commercial meat grinder but I'm sure i have an old blender. I could singe the fur off in a tlud biochar session, maybe if they were dried into a blood type meal i wouldn't be so iffy about the grinder. "

That sentence, out of context, is strangely hilarious.

I've totally had the same thought of using squirrels as chicken feed. I view them as another potential energy flowing through my property. An air gun would be my preferred kill method, though. Then off to the chicken pen.

I imagine that ducks wouldn't have any issue. Those things eat stuff raw that carry problems that would KILL us, such as snails, slugs and beetles. You might be able to kill two problems at the same time by eliminating a pest and feeding a productive animal at the same time. I think I'd just chop 'em up on a stump and throw the bits to the birds.

My completely non-expert opinion would be - go for it. And save a tail to make a cool cap.

After reading some articles on processing rodents for snakes it looks like Co2 is mankinds current best option. I could like the bucket system with a little cooking oil on the walls so they don't exaust themselves trying to climb out of the bucket and then just put a lid on it when traps are checked and flow the gas in. I use to have the kind of phobia about drowning while I was young that made me get of my bicycle and walk across every bridge i passed, so I don't really want to see anyone drown.

Still don't know how I'm going to bitify them for the ducks, and hacking up mice is about as appealing as a necklace made of offal. I can cull skin and gut, but the smaller the creature the harder the time I have. There's gotta be a diy video on youtube somewhere for a whizbang chopper.

Saybian Morgan wrote: There's gotta be a diy video on youtube somewhere for a whizbang chopper.

This would work........

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fAZ3myOEfew

...but, it ain't gonna be pretty....

I believe I would trust your ducks. Rough chop the rodents and toss in, and let the ducks decide..

Ive seen that video I wish I had the engineering woodworking guts to built what they build. I would so buy that one and there grinder, I'm subscribed to them on youtube in case they ever design something that wont chop up the layman if he doesn't build it right.

I just whatched the video again, I've got to stop being such a pansy I can build this. Ok not for rodents but chopping and permaculture go hand in hand.

My uncle had a squirrel problem. He bought a couple of live traps. When the trap caught a squirrel, he put the trap inside a garbage bag, ran an old vacuum hose from the tailpipe of the car into the bag, and sent mr. squirrel to everlasting dreams of fall acorn gathering.

i've fed squirrel to the dog with no problems, but not chickens/ducks. I would and will, given the opportunity.

The live traps work well using a few sunflower seeds or peanuts as bait. If you mount them on a fence or deck railing, it makes it quick and easy for them to find the spring loaded doors in to the trap.

The air-pellet gun approach works just fine, too.

Saybian Morgan wrote:....... I can build this.........

There you go! At least half the project is just getting it in your mind that you can do it.

I've got 25+ years in machine shops and these are the simplest and most doable plans I think I've ever seen. Well thought out and well drawn. Go for it, you will be surprised.

I'll be surprised alright, as soon as he said "you can hook this up to a pulley" my mind started raging with thoughts of I wonder how fast I could get this thing to chop and when would the machete heat up and chop the device to pieces. Knowing me i'll build everything just right then run out an get a motor I can't adjust the speed on and the whole thing will whirl out of control just like my compost sifting worm casting extractor did.