Can’t get rid of rats

[VeryHappyHens]

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!

Make sure they are NO wholes!! I usually get big rat traps than grind them up and put them in my chicken feed!! It gives them protein.!!

 

[WindingRoad]

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.

They won't eat it.

 

[WindingRoad]

The problem with poison is as long as there's literally anything else to eat anywhere they'll always pass it up. Even if there's just a few tiny pieces of corn or feed laying around. You'll probably have better luck using humane traps or quick kill traps. You could try leaving higher value foods mixed with poison (peanut butter, people food) in places only they can reach. Rats are tough pests to get rid of, because as long as there's that 1 mama rat out there she can keep having litters of 12+ and adding back to the population.

Rats can mate at 3 months so those 12 "babies" will keep the population going. I'm getting the birth control bait as soon as the snow is gone from here. Stop them in their tracks. Sterilizes the males and put the females into menopause. Who knew. Many big cities are using this method. Rats have a short life span of about 2 years. Hoping to wipe out the whole population around here. BTW rodents don't hibernate.

 

[Farm life101]

Okay thank you all so much! I made a little brooder with hardware wire around her (she was not very thankful as she was attacking me most of the time lol) and then I screwed wood boards over the space in the raised part on the coop they are getting in through and also added the metal sheeting down on the inside on the coop like I did on the outside so hopefully I trapped them under there and I will have to find a way to really get rid of them instead of waiting for them to all die under there which will definitely stink. But if they do find another way out, the duck and her babies are protected well enough hopefully

 

[cmom]

Rats are great diggers and chewers. When I had the walls up in this coop the rats chewed through a stud to get on the other side of the stud.

 

[Farm life101]

Rats are great diggers and chewers. When I had the walls up in this coop the rats chewed through a stud to get on the other side of the stud.
View attachment 2552319

Yeah they have chewed off part of our 2x4s. I’m hoping that the wood I put out today will hold them off for now at least but I’ll see in the morning. I tried to protect the momma and babies best I could with what I had, but there are a few spots they could get to her

 

[Folly's place]

Yes, they chew through wood very effectively.
Mary

 

[AmeliaBedelia]

I'd consider bringing mama and babies inside if you have a spare bathroom...put a tarp in the bathtub (drain closed) and use painter's tape to seal down the edges to the tub and tape down any folds with duct tape so chicks can't get behind them. Keep a cheap plastic shower curtain there to catch dust. Add a small amount of your favorite bedding, food, water, and voila! Very rudimentary rat-proof accommodations. If mama hen will allow it.

 

[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.

 

[Howard E]

And for those of you who don't have a cement floor, but do have rats tunneling in, do not think wire around the edges will help. Watch the video......and how they tunnel in. They are very good at getting in.