So I found some post but most of them in fact nearly all of them are talking about the rats coming at night.
These critters (rats) are feeding in the day. We're not allowed to use rodenticides in my area due to the family of hawks, owls and even coyotes that live nearby. Also too, there's always the worry about a neighbor's backyard dog getting hold of a poisoned rat so I totally get that. Not to mention when you do use rodenticides, the rodent doesn't die right away they leave their poison impregnated droppings all over whatever area they're walking in whether that be the chicken run or elsewhere. So it's probably just as well we're not allowed to use them.
So I've tried treadle feeders, I even tried that feeder that if any weight is pulled on it it covers the feeding slot. Seemed like a good idea but the problem was that it would jam too easily with pellets and I even tried crumbles and the stupid thing would jam. So I tried that kind of feeder also.
I've tried traps, I've tried those electrocute boxes for rats, even paid for a couple hundred dollar Plus rat killer device that when they reached up for the food it would slug them in the head with a hard metal rod. They didn't go near it ever. Thankfully it was within the return window so I returned that.
I have a feeder bucket with a deer feeder attached to the bottom of it and around that is a heavy metal mesh secondary covering that prevents the rats from getting anywhere near the bucket if they somehow managed to hop that high. There's a tray underneath the bucket maybe not know a few feet below it. So with the deer feeders you just set the amount of time that you wanted to spin out some food, in seconds and at what time you want it to happen. There's a baffle around the heavy metal enclosure that surrounds the feeding bucket which directs the feed below into the feeding tray which is elevated.
The nice thing about the arrangement is if the chickens see the rats they chase them especially the rooster. But when they're on some other side of the run where the feeder isn't that's where the rats hop in and grab a bite.
I know a couple of owls have grabbed some rats at night , they live nearby. I know the Hawks during the day grab one every now and then. By the way my chickens are in a covered run so the Hawks can't get to them. Of course that also means that the Hawks can't get to the rat running inside the chicken run.
I think I've exhausted all the ideas I can think of. I have the feeder mechanism set though so that it dispenses an amount of food that is already finished by the time the chickens head off to bed to roost. Zero problems in the chicken coop itself and that's simply because there's no food or water in the coop.
Well there it is - if any of you can come up with a great idea that would be terrific. I think over the years of battling these creatures I've tried just about everything I could reasonably think of.
These critters (rats) are feeding in the day. We're not allowed to use rodenticides in my area due to the family of hawks, owls and even coyotes that live nearby. Also too, there's always the worry about a neighbor's backyard dog getting hold of a poisoned rat so I totally get that. Not to mention when you do use rodenticides, the rodent doesn't die right away they leave their poison impregnated droppings all over whatever area they're walking in whether that be the chicken run or elsewhere. So it's probably just as well we're not allowed to use them.
So I've tried treadle feeders, I even tried that feeder that if any weight is pulled on it it covers the feeding slot. Seemed like a good idea but the problem was that it would jam too easily with pellets and I even tried crumbles and the stupid thing would jam. So I tried that kind of feeder also.
I've tried traps, I've tried those electrocute boxes for rats, even paid for a couple hundred dollar Plus rat killer device that when they reached up for the food it would slug them in the head with a hard metal rod. They didn't go near it ever. Thankfully it was within the return window so I returned that.
I have a feeder bucket with a deer feeder attached to the bottom of it and around that is a heavy metal mesh secondary covering that prevents the rats from getting anywhere near the bucket if they somehow managed to hop that high. There's a tray underneath the bucket maybe not know a few feet below it. So with the deer feeders you just set the amount of time that you wanted to spin out some food, in seconds and at what time you want it to happen. There's a baffle around the heavy metal enclosure that surrounds the feeding bucket which directs the feed below into the feeding tray which is elevated.
The nice thing about the arrangement is if the chickens see the rats they chase them especially the rooster. But when they're on some other side of the run where the feeder isn't that's where the rats hop in and grab a bite.
I know a couple of owls have grabbed some rats at night , they live nearby. I know the Hawks during the day grab one every now and then. By the way my chickens are in a covered run so the Hawks can't get to them. Of course that also means that the Hawks can't get to the rat running inside the chicken run.
I think I've exhausted all the ideas I can think of. I have the feeder mechanism set though so that it dispenses an amount of food that is already finished by the time the chickens head off to bed to roost. Zero problems in the chicken coop itself and that's simply because there's no food or water in the coop.
Well there it is - if any of you can come up with a great idea that would be terrific. I think over the years of battling these creatures I've tried just about everything I could reasonably think of.
