Dealing with rats

[Ladies-Eight]

Thankfully ive never really had to worry about rats or mice. But I do usually open the coop up to this about 4-5 times a year.

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As I have said before on here the only good snake is a dead snake. If I were to go into the coop and find a snake eating the eggs I would probably die, as I am deathly afraid of snakes. You're better than I.

 

[Mossy Dell]

I'd start limit feeding them. Have them clean up the feed relatively quicklly. Mature chickens eat about 4 oz a day. Try that x the number of hens. Feed by mid-day so they have time to clean it all up. This problem will take several solutions once the rats have moved in. But this is one. Don't leave any feed out at night. Seeing rats in the day means you have a lot of them . . .

 

[Mossy Dell]

Where's the photo on the front page related to this post? A wheaten hen, looks Aseel, carrying a rodent in her beak? I'd like to know about her!

 

[Connewarre]

Pellet gun. Or give to our ratting cat.

Thank you

 

[JRCOOKFL]

RATX has done a gr8 job for me also......we put it in a plastic coffee can with small holes so that only rats could get in......we did this on our pool patio in florida and on my chicken farm in georgia.....it got them gone

 

[Wickedchicken6]

We farm. Unfortunately keeping the availability of grain to a minimum is not possible with feeding cattle. We have free-range rabbits and chickens. We also have working dogs and a ratting cat so it isn't safe to use poison. I've purchased the double pack box traps when they're on sale; I've used the larger traps for poultry predators. We had a flood in 2014 that flooded the main farmyard. Since then we've had a scourge of rats. (We also see mice for that question asked earlier)

The small box trap baited with fresh marshmallow works very well for catching rats. Perhaps this can be helpful to those who are unable to utilize poison.

 

[Manhen]

We farm. Unfortunately keeping the availability of grain to a minimum is not possible with feeding cattle. We have free-range rabbits and chickens. We also have working dogs and a ratting cat so it isn't safe to use poison. I've purchased the double pack box traps when they're on sale; I used the larger traps for poultry predators. We had a flood in 2014 that flooded the main farmyard. Since then we've had a scourge of rats. (We also see mice for that question asked earlier)

The small box trap baited with fresh marshmallow works very well for catching rats. Perhaps this can be helpful to those who are unable to utilize poison.

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brings visions of Orwell's 1984...

 

[Mossy Dell]

I used to farm, raising lots of sheep, and you are right: if you farm, you'll have rats at some level. The box traps are a good idea. I do wonder if rats will get too wary, they are so smart.

 

[Madie'sOddFlock]

I've always been surprised that we don't have too many problems with the rats. We know we have them, we've seen them, and they love to roll in the pig's slop buckets, but they don't eat too much of the chicken feed(we keep grain bags in chest freezers for that reason), they don't bother the chickens, and as far as we know, they don't eat the eggs. They just hang out with the pig, cuddle with him at night, eat his slop during the day, and dig burrows under all our coops...

 

[Wickedchicken6]

brings visions of Orwell's 1984...

Not nearly as bad. If it were, I'd be eating the rats.
Apparently, they are quite delicious.