A softbilled bird that regularly eats mice will be ingesting dangerous doses of disease-causing agents. Surveys have shown that cats on farm properties, for instance, have no discernible effect on the local mouse population. Rats are also a problem in the aviary. They can breed every 28 days with a female potentially producing 100 youngsters every year. They will chew through anything to gain access to food.
Rats can jump, climb, swim and dig expertly.
They have learned to sustain themselves on very little, yet remain physically resilient. All this without marine training. Adult rats are notoriously difficult to trap, but they can be baited with poison blocks dropped down their burrows. Try not to interfere with the burrows, or they will up and move nearby and be more wary. Drop poison blocks down the burrow out of sight.