All kinds of predators

[ukrkoz]

As in - who even knows.
We moved our chicken family to a new, 6 acre place. As in the old place, they are fully fenced and covered with bird net. I take no chances besides, we have official resident in form of American bald eagle.
But, place being in farmland, we have all kinds of burrowing critters. I know rats, mice, weasel and possum. Reason I know this we lost a bunch of quailes to rats (taken care of, steel mesh now fully covering the quail thing) and then I trapped 3 rats and a weasel. Several mice. 1 possum and 1 died in property.
It's been a while since I trapped something, but burrows keep showing, ground under the chicken coop looks like one big burrow land. We had no losses - yet - but I'd rather put at least a reasonable end to this.
I have TomCat large poison dispenser outside the run, type that only rodents can get in, but it is not apparently frequented by them - blocks are almost untouched.
I lock chickens inside coops for the night but I know that hungry predator may graze through boards too.
So far, rat traps worked best.
Any other suggestions? Flock is quite a bit away so if something attacks them mid night, we won't even hear the noise.
Yeah, a guard dog makes sense but then I have to break the wall called my wife's mind, set on NOT having a dog for some reason. Or cat, for that matter. She just "got that thing" about dogs and cats. No idea.

 

[TheKindaFarmGal]

I was going to recommend a cat or dog or both until I read the last bit. Can you get a rooster or two at least, if you don't have one? Keep up the rat traps. Peanut butter is irresistible bait for mice and rats.

 

[ukrkoz]

We have 5 roosters. You think they will protect the girls in case life happens?
Peanut butter, huh? Will do. Stale meat worked well also.

 

[ukrkoz]

Actually reason I am cautious about roosters is I left trapped rat once or twice in the run, to see what chickens will do about it. They clearly ignored a dead one. Just sort of glanced at it and that was it.

 

[TheKindaFarmGal]

Yes, roosters will protect the hens with their lives. But at night they might not be able to.

Peanut butter works great! We would get a few mice/rats every night with it. Often we would feed the dead rodents to the chickens, but if they have been dead for a while they won't eat them.

I think chickens would kill mice or rats if they had the chance to. Try catching a rodent and feed it to your birds while it is fresh. If they don't go for it right away, cut the head off or some other part so they see blood and try to get it. Then they will hopefully see them as food, and be more likely to kill them when they have the chance.

 

[ukrkoz]

Brutal - but might work. Promise I'll wait till wife is gone to work before I do this.
Concern is, I do not want to turn them into blood thirsty predators too. Just saying. But they do LOVE meat, that's for sure.
Peanut butter ahoy!

 

[Rock Home Isle]

Have you thought about setting traps?

 

[carlf]

.
It's been a while since I trapped something, but burrows keep showing, ground under the chicken coop looks like one big burrow land. We had no losses - yet - but I'd rather put at least a reasonable end to this.

That sounds like moles or pocket gophers. Or chipmunks.
It is tunnels or actual large burrows?
Which state are you in??

 

[ukrkoz]

PacNW

It's tunnels
Not mounds.

 

[carlf]

What size tunnels?

Small like coke can or smaller in diameter?
Or big, like a coon or possum could get down it?