AH! I saw it!!!!! what now???

[4hLuvers]

Hi everyone!
so a few weeks ago i posted about mysterious holes in my chicken run. Well today i was out refilling the water and i lifted up the cinderblock i had previously covered the holes with. And surprise!! i saw a little furry backside scurry down a tunnel. So now i at least know its not a snake (phew) but i have no idea what to do now. I also stepped in another one of the tunnels and i covered both with dirt and packed it down really tight. So now what??

Do i set a trap for it? And if i did how would i prevent the chickens from eating the bait? Or do i put out posion? and how do i keep the chickens from eating that?

im really pretty stumped..... so thanks for any suggestions

<3 4HLuvers

 

[Bizzybirdy]

So what is it????

 

[ChickenCat]

It's a mole? If so, it won't eat poison, you can't trap it. They're a blamed nusiance!!! They love to tunnel under blocks, plywood laying on the ground, etc. I didn't do anything, but the ones under my hen house just disappeared. Supposedly castor bean plants will deter moles, I haven't tried planting them though cause I think they're ugly and don't live through the winter here.
I have no solution for you.

 

[BluegrassSeramas]

Rat ? Mouse?

 

[annie3001]

sounds like a mole...
we have bumps in our yard all over.. i stomp on them too!
it could be a chipmunk too? i have them all over the yard too.
if there are holes in your chicken run... your doing the right thing so far,,, stomping and filling in the hole..

beware tho,
chickens also like to dig. mine have been making nice hole like areas in their run.. kinda like a dirty place to relax. ha lol.


goodluck...

 

[rufus]

If it is in a tunnel, it is probably a rat or a pocket gopher.

Use Maccabee gopher traps. There is no bait involved. Dig out the tunnel with an old spoon. Usually there is two or three tunnels; put a trap in each one. Cover each hole with a tin can, and then cover that with dirt so that it is light tight.

Make sure the traps are on chains staked into the ground. You don't want to lose your trap down the hole or to a passing dog.

The chickens will want to dig in the fresh dirt, so cover the area with a piece of plywood or tin or something they cannot move.

Check the traps everyday.

Happy trapping.

Rufus

 

[Kittymomma]

If it's a mole I know of two things you can do.

1. If you have cats take some of the urine soaked litter and put it in/around any holes you find. They don't like it and they'll move--though they might move into your yard...

2. Put a 1/2 a stick of juicyfruit gum down any holes you find. They like the sweetness (so grandpa said) but are unable to digest the gum and die.

I've used both methods succesfully. I'm not sure about chickens and juicyfruit though so be careful and/or see if anybody else knows about that.

 

[4hLuvers]

i think its most likely a rat because there are no mounds or anything on the holes. They are just holes in the surface of the dirt. Also i stuck a stick under a cabinet we have in our run and there was what looked like rat poo under there (Y U C K). Thanks for all the help so far!

 

[Chick-a-roos]

I have Voles or "meadow mice" (all the same....just a rat!) So far, I have not found any solution to get rid of them. I didn't have the holes in my chicken pen...just everywhere else. I even dropped pellets of decon in the holes and then filled the holes with rocks. I tried the juicey fruit gum trick but I honestly thought I seen them outside blowing bubbles at me!!

I hope you have better luck than me!

 

[chickon baby]

We have the exact same thing in our run.I do think our's is a "mole" since we have the tunnels in the yard as well as outside the fence of the run..Will the girls try to catch the moles and/or eat it??? Where do moles go when it gets cold? Would a mole eat eggs??? What does rat poo look like?? Thanks