The Natural Chicken Keeping thread - OTs welcome!

[Leahs Mom]

The Rat Zapper is very effective at getting rid of mice and rats.... I had a red light blinking this morning when I went out (in the dark) to feed... saw about one inch of rat tail hanging out of the Zapper... it was a big fat one too. I also keep poison bait ("Just One Bite" is what it's called, best there is by far) available at all times inside a commercially-made (Tomcat) rat bait station. Don't EVER put out any kind of bait that isn't fastened down, or they'll just carry it off and hide it in their burrows. Also, rats seem to be great burrowers, I have seen them dig under a ten foot stretch of concrete to get at food. Rats are true athletes, they can climb, jump, dig and swim into places you can't even imagine.

I have a rat zapper that I used last winter out in the run. I put it into one of the plactic "rubbermade" type containers that is shoebox size and cut a door so that they could go in and the zapper could stay out of the weather. (They're made for indoors only and will be ruined if they get wet.)

BUT...
I brought it up to the back deck and garage in the spring because there was an over-population of chipmunks. I got a lot of them in that trap but...I missed one and let it sit in there too long. It began to deteriorate and the flies were having a great breeding time

and WAS IT EVER A MESS TO GET CLEANED UP.

It's never been the same since. I just haven't been able to get all the stuff off it perfectly no matter how I've tried to clean it. You have to be careful as you really aren't supposed to get it wet in there even though I did have to try....

So I get a lot of false alarms on it and it just isn't working up to par. I guess I need to get a new one.

So the moral of the story is.... BE SURE TO CHECK THEM DAILY AND DON'T FORGET! I loved it while it was working

 

[CoopChick719]

What about really salty water or perhaps a little anti-freeze...

We have used RV anti-freeze, which it not toxic to animals, & water in the bucket we used at camp.

 

[ChickChickChicky]

I have a rat zapper that I used last winter out in the run. I put it into one of the plactic "rubbermade" type containers that is shoebox size and cut a door so that they could go in and the zapper could stay out of the weather. (They're made for indoors only and will be ruined if they get wet.)

BUT...
I brought it up to the back deck and garage in the spring because there was an over-population of chipmunks. I got a lot of them in that trap but...I missed one and let it sit in there too long. It began to deteriorate and the flies were having a great breeding time

and WAS IT EVER A MESS TO GET CLEANED UP.

It's never been the same since. I just haven't been able to get all the stuff off it perfectly no matter how I've tried to clean it. You have to be careful as you really aren't supposed to get it wet in there even though I did have to try....

So I get a lot of false alarms on it and it just isn't working up to par. I guess I need to get a new one.

So the moral of the story is.... BE SURE TO CHECK THEM DAILY AND DON'T FORGET! I loved it while it was working

You CAN clean your Rat Zapper with water! Google "rat zapper cleaning instructions" and you will see that you can soak it in a shallow pan of warm soapy water ( I used a roasting pan) after removing the batteries. The only part of the rat zapper that can't get wet (MAKE SURE BATTERIES ARE REMOVED) is the top part where all the electronics are. Mine had gotten really messed up after being ignored for awhile and was filled with packed dirt, I had to soak and scrub it several times to get it working again. The shiny "electrocution plate" inside has to be perfectly clean with no crud on it. If you clean it and continue to get false alarms, clean it again, and again if need be. You can find the cleaning instructions in pdf format.

 

[Leahs Mom]

@chickychickychicky

Thanks! For some reason I was thinking I couldn't get the base wet so I was trying to clean it as well as I could without too much moisture!!!

Just got the instructions and I'll work on it later today!!!!

 

[Leahs Mom]

Just gave it a bath. We'll see how it works now

 

[hoosiercheetah]

I have too many thoughts.

I think I'm going to go back to FF. Great choice in November in Indiana, right? Does FF keep itself above freezing?

I think about heated water bowls, but I think I shouldn't need them if I just rotate waterers in the morning and afternoon. I don't know which would be simpler.

I think FF sounds like more work than topping up the dry feeders once a week. I want the benefits, but it has to fit into my daily routine, and there isn't a lot of time in the mornings.

I think I have to find a FF routine that works for me, so I can stay with it.

I think my dog is still the laziest animal I've ever met.

I think I lost my nail clippers. I don't know how women with serious nails can type. Mine are only slightly longer than normal, and it's driving me nuts.

I think I can't wait for my new chicks to get here. December is too far away.

I think I have a lot of work to do do be ready for them. December is coming on too quickly.

I think deer season is half over and I haven't fired a weapon wince last year, or maybe longer. I think I'm going to miss it again.

I think I'd rather be raising Cornish Rocks than freezing my tukkas off in an oak tree on the off chance that 50 lbs of venison will wander by.

I think it's weird that I'd rather be a farmer than a hunter. I would never have thought that about myself. I always wondered who I'd be in the Little House books. I think I'd be the guy two farms over from Pa, raising a herd of dairy cattle and trying to convince everyone in Walnut Grove that goats grown on fermented feed taste better than open-ranged beef.

I think I didn't get enough sleep last night.

I think that's all.

 

[hennible]

I make FF in bucket feeders out in the coop, its been anywhere between 6°C and -10 Celsius here... And it is fermenting away and still flowing into the feeder.

 

[hoosiercheetah]

I make FF in bucket feeders out in the coop, its been anywhere between 6°C and -10 Celsius here... And it is fermenting away and still flowing into the feeder.

Oooo... I like the sound of bucket feeders. Do you haz pics?

 

[hennible]

Oooo... I like the sound of bucket feeders. Do you haz pics?

I haz link for youz to look at
https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/931194/fermented-feed-feeder

 

[Leahs Mom]

@hoosiercheetah

Yes. It freezes. And quite solid in the feeder.

Last several years I used a flat heat base made from the heating element from a heated dog bowl and used pyrex pie pans (which are shallow) set on top of those heat bases to feed from. If you want to see them I can send you a pm...they're easy to make.


Otherwise, you could approach feeding by just putting out a little in the morning and a little in the evening and hopefully they will learn to eat what they need quickly before it freezes.

I am considering only feeding the wet feed in the late afternoon and not heating it this year. Haven't totally made up my mind on that. If I do that I would have the dry feed with a bit of lard stirred in available for the daytime which wouldn't freeze then feed wet when I get home from work.

My problem has been that I go to work before the sun is up in the winter and if I put out the wet feed in the morning before I go to work, it will be frozen before they get off the roost in the morning. So if I don't put a heater under it, they can't eat it in the morning.

Anyhow...just contemplating on whether I really want to run the heaters again this year.