Dealing with rats

[cmom]

I have never used the bait boxes posted. I don't worry about secondhand poisoning. A rat eats so little. From my research any predator that eats a poisoned rat is not likely to be poisoned but there may be exceptions. I had a coop that was very infested. I used this bait and rat bait box. The box has a little window above the bait so it can be checked and replaced as needed and only the rats and mice can get to the bait. I did notice some tunnels around the coops and only found a couple of dead rats that I disposed of. I think the others went into their tunnels and died. I'm not crazy about using poison so I place the bait boxes where other critters can't get to them. I tried traps but still had oodles of rats so I resorted to the poison and the bait boxes. I haven't had to replace the baits in quite awhile, nor have I seen any rats. Good luck...

 

[CarpCharacin]

I put out both bait boxes when the poison arrived on Thursday, and I went out and checked them tonight, and all of the poison blocks were eaten. There were 6 cubes in each box. There was still a little bit of poison in the tray below the wires which hold the poison blocks, but not much. I refilled them, again with 6 bait blocks in each box. I wonder how long it will take for the entire colony to die.

 

[DiYMama540]

Hopefully not long...what a nightmare!
If we were close I would bring my terrier over...she lives for this sort of thing! Keep us posted on the body count... I'm interested to see!

 

[BDutch]

.... I don't worry about secondhand poisoning. A rat eats so little. ...]

I do worry about spreading poisoned rats. Predators that eat poisoned rats get sick and eventually they will die.
Here in Europe/The Netherlands I read several studies about poisoned owls and other predators. Most plagues are in towns where people feed birds and ducks. Its best to eliminate the food and make a natural environment in which predators that eat rats have a place.

If you poison the predators (and rats always come back) you get even more problems the next time. Rats can develop more quickly then predators and some rats do become imune for poison.

The only good solutions are these:
Make it impossible for rats to eat chicken food and left overs. Provide food in a hanging basket. Remember chicks can fly a little. Rats don't but are extremely good climbers.

Protect you're chickens from the rats in the night. Make a secure cage where they sleep.
Eliminate hiding places/bushes near the coop and run.

Get yourself one or two cats that loves to catch mice and baby rats.

I had rats here 4 years back. Living near water and a neighbour who had severe rat problems and even had rat holes in the chicken run. I lost 2 chicks because of rats. People where telling me to use poison too.

But I hate poison. Was stubborn and was reading about rat plagues and sick predators. Reading tips to feed just chickens and not the rats.
1. I removed the bushes around the run. No hiding places near the run and coop.
2. I repaired and secured the run with more mesh. (I already had a fence with hardware cloth in the ground)
3. Gave only 2x a day a short time layer feed to the chickens in several bowls. So they could all eat while I was around.
4. I made a special feeding table on a slippery iron stick for the rest of the day where the chickens could jump on. And the food could not fall off.
Neighbour cats and a mother fox hunted down the numbers. And I was lucky the neighbour stopped with keeping chickens and rabbits 2 years ago.
The rats dissapeared. I gave the food again as usual and didnt check the run anymore. After 2 years I had one rat in the run again. Yes. There was a hole underneath the mesh were I could not dig because there were roots. So I put mesh on the ground and put a layer of clay with lime on top. So far the rats didn't come back. Its two years now since I saw a rat.

 

[NHMountainMan]

Hmmm.......seems like "deja vu all over again".......since there is another rat thread running that has covered all this.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/rat-control-the-video-series.1337456/

To the OP and others, what you are sitting on is a thriving rat colony......and to get rid of them is a multi-step process. Thread above has links to several videos that explain what you are up against......your understanding of which is critical towards you getting a jump on getting rid of them, which in summary revolves around three keys steps.

Sanitation.......eliminating access to feed and shelter.
Exclusion.....rat proofing your structures so rats can't get in to harm chickens, steal eggs, get to feed, etc.

and if those two fail to starve them out so them move on.....

Elimination: The tendency of most folks is to go straight to elimination in the form of traps, bait blocks, etc., which will likely lead to failure to rid yourself of the problem.

Traps won't work to eliminate a colony......forget that. Provided you have taken the all important sanitation step so rats can't get to any other food source and are starving.... they may be receptive to poison bait blocks.......of which there are several layers of potency and affect. Skip the sanitation step and the rats will likely skip the bait blocks.

BYC folks.....at least some of them......are adverse to using poison bait blocks out of fear of secondary poisoning. That concern can largely be mitigated depending on the choice of bait block and delivery method. Others are not adverse at all and will gladly use the bait blocks if it will help their cause.

Study the videos, do your homework and you will be armed with the knowledge to get rid of your rat problem.

Excellent post!

 

[NHMountainMan]

Rats tend to be an urban problem so I'm starting with the assumption that your neighbors are nearby. Which likely means that no matter what your do, there is another rat colony nearby.
Most cities and suburbs have feral cat problems that are managed through TNR (trap, neuter,release) programs. Got may want check with animal control and your vet to see if there are cats available for release. They aren't pets - they're hunters.
You may want to look at treadle feeder as an option as well to require weight to have access to the feed.
Good luck

 

[Wee Farmer Sarah]

I have to beg to differ @NHMountainMan. I am relatively country, not totally rural and there are rats. This was pointed out by a friend who farms not too far from here. Although the rats we have here are the smaller variety that may appear to be mice, they really are rats. Trust me. I grew up in Baltimore and I know rats. LOL! But seriously, if you have animal feed that is hitting the ground, eventually the rats will show up. Also, this time of year the rodents are looking for a warm winter home. I'm using RatX for the first time and it seems to be working indoors. There's no secondary poisoning risk with this as it uses all natural ingredients. Keeping my fingers crossed.

 

[BirdsBeesTrees]

Fox love rats. All those rats may draw some fox in.

 

[cmom]

I do worry about spreading poisoned rats. Predators that eat poisoned rats get sick and eventually they will die.
Here in Europe/The Netherlands I read several studies about poisoned owls and other predators. Most plagues are in towns where people feed birds and ducks. Its best to eliminate the food and make a natural environment in which predators that eat rats have a place.

If you poison the predators (and rats always come back) you get even more problems the next time. Rats can develop more quickly then predators and some rats do become imune for poison.

The only good solutions are these:
Make it impossible for rats to eat chicken food and left overs. Provide food in a hanging basket. Remember chicks can fly a little. Rats don't but are extremely good climbers.

Protect you're chickens from the rats in the night. Make a secure cage where they sleep.
Eliminate hiding places/bushes near the coop and run.

Get yourself one or two cats that loves to catch mice and baby rats.

I had rats here 4 years back. Living near water and a neighbour who had severe rat problems and even had rat holes in the chicken run. I lost 2 chicks because of rats. People where telling me to use poison too.

But I hate poison. Was stubborn and was reading about rat plagues and sick predators. Reading tips to feed just chickens and not the rats.
1. I removed the bushes around the run. No hiding places near the run and coop.
2. I repaired and secured the run with more mesh. (I already had a fence with hardware cloth in the ground)
3. Gave only 2x a day a short time layer feed to the chickens in several bowls. So they could all eat while I was around.
4. I made a special feeding table on a slippery iron stick for the rest of the day where the chickens could jump on. And the food could not fall off.
Neighbour cats and a mother fox hunted down the numbers. And I was lucky the neighbour stopped with keeping chickens and rabbits 2 years ago.
The rats dissapeared. I gave the food again as usual and didnt check the run anymore. After 2 yea rs I had one rat in the run again. Yes. There was a hole underneath the mesh were I could not dig because there were roots. So I put mesh on the ground and put a layer of clay with lime on top. So far the rats didn't come back. Its two years now since I saw a rat.

Currently I have around 300 birds. I have not found any dead rats laying around from the poison. I think they go down in their tunnels that I have seen around the coops. I have not found any dead predators laying around from eating a dead rat. It is a risk I will take. We are rural on a dead end road. We have mostly coyotes and if they eat a rat I don't really care since we have so many of them and they have no predators here but do prey on others including bobcats and fox which we have plenty of those too. I have several game cameras around on my property and I see fox and coyotes most nights on at least one of the cameras.

 

[CarpCharacin]

I just checked the bait boxes today, and all the poison was gone again. There were some leaves and stuff that the rats had brought into the boxes, which I removed, but one of the wires which holds the poison blocks was also gone. I found it outside of the bait box, and put it back in. I'm starting to wonder if I should get some of the stronger poison with the neurotoxin. I still worry about secondary poisoning, though.