Can’t get rid of rats

[Farm life101]

hello fellow chicken lovers!
I’ve got a huge rat problem as I’m about to have ducklings hatch under a broody duck. They are in a 10x8 coop that we built and they also have a huge run, I will add pictures. I’ve buried metal sheeting about 2 foot down over the wire because they were squeezing through the wire and getting under and in the coop. They are also underneath the raised wooden area of the coop. I don’t really see them unless I’m in there close to night time but I do see their poop, and it’s everywhere in the raised area. I’ve covered all the places that I’ve seen them getting in the coop, I’ve set traps, stop leaving food overnight and we have an outside cat so I’m at a loss as to what to do now. I would open up the raised area but I have a duck on eggs there so I can’t. Any ideas as to what I can do?? Thanks!

 

[cmom]

I have tried many thing to eliminate rats. I'm not telling anyone to use poison. Trap if you can. I had a coop that was infested and when I renovated the coop dozens of rats poured out from everywhere. I found nests in the ceiling and walls. It was a breeding place. I didn't want to use poison but eventually did. Our barn is behind the coops. I put rat bait stations in the barn with bait of course and put the bait stations in pet carriers up on a shelf so nothing but the rats could get to the bait. There is a partician in the middle of the bait station that the rats have to go around to get to the bait. There were tunnels around the coops and the barn. Since I didn't find any dead rats laying around I assume they went into their tunnels and died. Eventually I stopped seeing any evidence of rats. The baits weren't being touched and I didn't see any more rats. I still keep the bait stations baited. There is a little window above the bait so I can check it often. Good luck...

 

[RojoMarz]

Even though you remove the feed each night, make sure they are not eating during the day. I like my Ratproof Feeder.

 

[Folly's place]

Rats are very smart, and no trap will catch all of them. We had rats invade our coop years ago, and they killed three nice bantam pullets at night, in addition to eating feed and eggs. It took bait stations and removing an insulated wall to get rid of them.
Mary

 

[MysteryChicken]

Get some Rat X, it's safe to use around livestock, & only kills rats, & mice.

I believe it uses a type of salt that dehydrates the pests.

 

[cmom]

I tried many things and still had rat issues until I put the bait stations in the barn. The rats will find it and loved the bait I used and as I mentioned above. I didn't find any dead rats laying around so I suspect they went into their tunnels and died and that Is why I didn't find any dead ones. The rats wouldn't touch the bait that came with the rat bait stations so I bought some different bait from the feed store down the road and it is what they used. Again, good luck...

 

[TOR]

I used bromethalin, had a norway rat infestation that was out of control.
At the time I had pigs and I was using the old fashion wood spring traps which I have used before, but not having much luck. (The rats were eating the pig feed.}
The day the pigs left for processing I cleaned the pens removed any leftover feed waited couple days made sure they were hungry and gave them a meal. That got rid of them.
I do not like poison and still use the wood traps, but when the population gets out of control I poison them.

 

[cmom]

 

[Howard E]

Have lost track of the number of times I've posted this video, but what is one more?

Key takeaway is if you want rat proof, you go metal. Metal siding, roof, metal doors, metal hardware cloth over openings, and metal trim. And cement floors.

Metal siding.....the type used on pole barns, with all the trim options like corner caps, J channel, etc, makes for a durable, low maintenance, predator and rat proof chicken house exterior......provided you also insulate it. Without the insulation, it can become a hot box death trap in summer and brutally cold in winter.

 

[Al Gerhart]

First do a forum search for rats and chickens, there are hundreds of threads with this subject beat to death. Find Howard E's Rat 101 post from a few years back. You can find hundreds of posts with all sorts of advice.

The advice tends to go poison, rat proof the coop, traps, then on to the useless advice like plaster of paris, scents, the usual old wives tales. The problem with poisons and traps is that you are dong things backward. Howard E said it best several years back, sanitation, exclusion, extermination, in that order.

Sanitation, clean up around the coop so any rodent traveling has to be in the open where predators can reach them. Eliminate hiding places and runways. Doesn't help much once they have tunneled under the coop. Get your bulk feed in metal barrels or metal trash cans with lids. I have seen mice jump out of a 55 gallon barrel. Next get a treadle feeder, a proper treadle feeder with good reviews, anything over ten percent negative reviews is useless in a rodent situation. No plastic parts, no wooden parts, narrow and distant treadle, spring loaded door and a counterweight. Avoid the wide steps that rats can use to reach the feed. Avoid the guillotine style feeders that have a lid opening overhead because you have to block them open to train the birds and leave them open for weeks which means the rodents learn where the feed is and now know to push the lid open. This style of feeder is also not rat proof, the lid is easily pushed open. Again, check the negative reviews, those will be the folks with a rodent problem and while a poorly designed feeder might prevent rats from ever colonizing a coop they rarely are able to stop an established colony.

Make sure the treadle feeder has a wide and deep feed tray, not a narrow slit like the plastic ones, the birds will quickly learn to rake feed out. Make sure the feeder has a feeder lip extender, few need them but there are hens that will rake feed and the usual 1/2" feeder lip protruding into the feed tray won't stop them.

Once you are no longer providing free food the rats will either leave or starve to death or become a meal themselves out foraging for natural food. This works every time assuming you have some full sized birds to operate the feeder and not a flock of silkies and bantams. It if doesn't work, you haven't assembled the feeder correctly, haven't installed it correctly, or you have dozens and dozens of rats that will begin to get caught in the feeder and suffocate. One way or the other, a proper treadle feeder stops rodents.

Exclusion is a lot harder and more expensive which is why Howard E. put it second. Metal, metal, metal. Wood and concrete can be chewed through. Metal cannot.

Once all this has failed, and it won't, you can poison. The problem with poison is that it never ends as newer populations move into the territory. The rodents get smart quickly and learn to leave the poison alone, ditto on traps. However, once the feed is cut off and if you already have a massive population that poison becomes very effective as they are starving. But you are also poisoning the natural predators which is a bad thing so use poison sparingly and only if you have chicks around that the rats will kill when they get desperate.