Rodents are a problem for many poultry farms. They can carry disease, posing a risk to food safety and bird health, and can damage farm infrastructure.
The main types of rodents found on Australian poultry farms are the black rat, brown rat and house mouse. Each species has its own unique characteristics, feeding and housing preference.
To successfully control rodents on farm it is important to:
- know which species of rodent you have
- select rodenticides that are effective against your rodent species
- use specific strategies that target your rodent species
- document your rodent control program and track the level of rodent activity
The Know your rodent fact sheet will help you identify which rodent, or rodents you have.
Download fact sheet
The following fact sheets have more detailed information about each rodent, including effective rodenticides and control strategies:
Download Black rat fact sheet Download Brown rat fact sheet Download House mouse fact sheet
For a summary of the rodent control guidelines:
Download guidelines
Listen to the podcasts on the latest rodent control research.
Or watch the presentation on YouTube on Lessons from a review of rodent control for the Australian poultry industries.
You can also download the full report Review of rodent control for the Australian chicken meat and egg industries (PDF, 2.4MB) from AgriFutures Australia.
Check out the online version of the Rodent control manual.
Project details
Project number: PRJ-010965
Principal investigator: Jessica Jolley and Alex Howard
Research organisation: South Australian Research and Development Institute
