Average rat hole size?

[Ruralhideaway]

So 2 mornings out of 3 I found a hole into my coop. They seem large for rat holes to me but I'm no expert. Then again, if it was anything else, I'd likely have dead birds.

I really didn't expect this. Poured a concrete collar on one side, buried galvanized lathe(mean stuff) on 2 sides, 4th side is exterior barn wall with concrete floor flush to the walls. Can't find a hole anywhere except in the coop.

Speculating they must be tunneling deep under the entire barn floor, then all the way across under the dirt floored coop. Ugh must be a rat, right? Holes are 3-4 inches across, round, emerging at a shallow angle into the coop. No signs of rodent poop but there's 6+ inches of shavings in there. I have several barn cats that kill things daily but if a big rat I know cats might not get those. No other signs anywhere.

 

[SunHwaKwon]

Sounds about right. I had something similar 1-2 winters ago. I set up a game camera to confirm what it was and ended up catching it in a raccoon-size live trap.

 

[Ruralhideaway]

Sounds about right. I had something similar 1-2 winters ago. I set up a game camera to confirm what it was and ended up catching it in a raccoon-size live trap.

Holy must have been a beast huh. I have a small live trap, should I set it right over the hole opening so chickens can't get in it?

 

[SunHwaKwon]

He was regular rat size (Norway rat?) but too smart for the smaller live trap and small traps I tried. There was actually a pair. I got one of those enclosed bait stations out of desperation, which apparently worked for the female (that I didn't know existed). She must have died in the tunnel as I never saw her. A few days after I trapped the male a bunch of babies, eyes closed and barely covered in fuzz, came crawling out of the tunnel, hungry and cold. I felt horrible but knew I dodged a bullet. That's when I learned to put feeders away at night. No issues since.

 

[Ruralhideaway]

I hate the baby stuff too but getting infested sucks. It could come to that but I worry about poisoning the cats.

 

[EggSighted4Life]

Rats even use gopher holes in addition to the tunneling they do themselves.

I set traps but only catch Juveniles. The larger rats are too smart to come out of the holes.

Don't kid yourself, rats are chicken predators. They steal and eat eggs, pull feathers from hens for nesting, and have even been known to eat chick and hens alive!

With the deep shaving you describe you will not likely see the droppings. I never did in my run until I would make clear smooth spots in the dirt. Then I could see their foot prints and some droppings.

You can fill holes with steel wool type stuff, I think it's annoying for them to chew on.

If you don't collect your feed every night or close it up, I suggest you start. Chickens don't eat during the night unless they have a light on and they should not. Although I collect mine, and they still come for shrapnel left behind.

Fight, fight, fight...

 

[EggSighted4Life]

You can make you own non toxic poison if you got the poison route..

It will kill rats but not other animals that consume them. It works because rats can't pass gas...

Equal part corn meal, baking soda, and sugar. Make little pouches and hide. Or serve in a shallow dish.They like to find things and chew through them and sometimes hide them for later. Hiding for later is ONE reason why I don't care for poison.

Good luck!

 

[SunHwaKwon]

Before I put it out, I did some reading because of the secondary poisoning risk. Independent (university) information i could find on bromethalin (TomCat) rank the risk as very low. There were numbers, something like a dozen+ freshly poisoned mice, would have to be consumed for a cat to feel an effect. I only used it as a temporary solution. I have no issue with wildlife on my premises as long as they are not becoming a threat to my or my animals health. So if mice want to come pick up stray pellets from the run during the night, so be it as long as they head back to the woods by morning and don't take up residence in the coops.

 

[Ruralhideaway]

I stuffed the first hole with chicken wire followed by great stuff. New hole happened 2 nights later. Will get steel wool today. Might try the baking soda trick too, seems a good long game tactic anyway.

I have 7 week old chicks in a fully enclosed brooder out there. I don't think I should take their food do you? I don't usually get free to get outside until 7:30am.

 

[Wickedchicken6]

We had (have) rats that burrowed underneath our coop (a dirt floor garage). I was trapping them in squirrel traps (never caught one in a coon trap...wow!) but there were still a few I couldn't get. When we cleaned it this summer the floor would cave in so we stomped it down where we could. After that the rats weren't digging up into the coop.

I always placed my traps in front of their holes, baited with marshmallows and was successful catching them that way. I have Old English Game Bantams and they'd occasionally set off my traps. So I had to lock them in the front of the building.