My backyard borders a 10 acre wetland, recently there has been a muskrat messing around in my snow covered, frozen lawn, like its looking for food. I walked right up to it yesterday and it wasnt bothered by my presence at all. Until I overstayed my welcome then it ran towards me in full attack mode (which was rather funny). Then again this morning I noticed him again. I took some shell corn down by it in case it was looking for food. The muskrat was actually curled up in a ball sleeping in the full sunlight in the wide open. Its rather cold here -10's at night and only 10F daytime. Whats up?

My girlfriend reported that a lot of people at her workplace have commented on all of the muskrats that they have seen recently smacked on the roads there. I told her it must be because they are getting frozen out of their houses in places since we have had long stretches of sub-zero weather and very little snow here for insulation. Probably is what happened to your rat.

Maybe lookin for love

We usually don't see that kind of activity here until the ice starts to open up a bit...March or April usually. They are awfully vulnerable now if they are out and about.....free meal for almost any predator.

That rat froze out and is trying to live on land. He probably won't make it to long. I have been seeing this happen in my area. When a rat freezes out they chew out of the house and travel although they are pretty vulnerable to predators. Has he eaten the corn? Adam

Yep. Froze out. Ive seen some this winter too

I have seen a couple of them crossing the highway on the way to work in the last couple weeks, I`m betting they are
froze out of their huts and looking for somewhere to live too.

I don't know why but they seem to do this on warmer days. The last few warm ups we had is when I see the most out wandering and crossing roads. Maybe they know that they have better chances of finding water the warmer it is. Adam

It may be looking for acorns, I have alot of oaks leading down to the wetland. It looks like it may be trying to live under a small shed I have. I put some corn under there yesterday when I knew it was under the shed, and the corn is gone today. I'll put more corn out for him. Its just been so darn cold here lately, -16F again this morning and their is virtually no snow to speak of.

In a real deep snow year, you wouldn't see much of this.

Runners
Walking dead...zombies.

Froze below food source. Shallow water can suffer heavy losses, starvation forces them out.

Last year me and my dad were groundhog hunting in the snow (yes it works), while we were sitting there over looking a field with a pond next to it, I saw a small brown blob moving across the field in the snow from the pond. I looked in the spotting scope and it was a muskrat. This little guy went all the way out in the middle of the field. I guess that was the problem not enough food from the frozen pond.