Fluffy Butt Acres: Stories of our flock

[RoyalChick]

Yep I put it into my locked office/feedroom and up in the loft were domestic animals can't get, only mice and rats.

In the house I throw it up in the attic.

I am ultra paranoid, I put a huge sign on the door in the barn stating poison in use and locked the Door.

I was more thinking about whoever eats the rodent corpses. My understanding is that the dead rodents get eaten by wildlife who themselves get poisoned from the pesticide in the dead rodent.

 

[RoyalChick]

Yes those second generation pesticides are nasty news, which is why I prefer Ratak, it's been around a long time. I like to keep the pesticide inside and not outside where vermin can wander away outside - mice and rats in the barn will stay in the barn.

I have been also putting the chickens food away at night and not leaving it out over night.

The hen house has no feed in there at all, the gang only goes in there to lay eggs and sleep.

I will be a wreck until I get these vermin under control, until then I will be on tenter hooks....

Yes - apparently older versions are much less problematic than the newer ones.

 

[Ponypoor]

Safety first, always. If everyone used pesticides carefully and properly there wouldn’t be problems. It’s unfortunate that too many people are either uneducated, lazy, or don’t care about handling these things properly… even some “professionals”. I’m quite serious in the thank you for properly using them. We had a big problem here with accidentally poisoned owls as well. (Not just the ones with the lead poisoning). Ironically, the more toxic poisons have the lesser impact on unintentional kills. You want the rodent to die really really close to the bait. I prefer snap traps for mice but rats are scary. The most common thing I catch in traps is my own fingers so…

Too many for traps in the barn, and yes you want to keep the poison in the building and the vermin also.

Generally speaking once mice and rats r in the barn with good access to feed and housing they stay there. I would never put pesticide outside were outside vermin can access it. That's just asking for problems.

 

[ChicoryBlue]

Remember my Cooper's Hawk.

Maybe add some bird netting?

Today I got the strong aviary netting over two greenhouse frames, and a short stretch of electronet around the area to protect from ground predators. I opened a small entranceway from the big run out to the frames. They can have some unsupervised outdoor foraging this way until I get them moved to the summer (& shade) location.

We had a great time digging around the garden beds too - same thing, worm hunting!

 

[featherhead007]

What a beautiful colour Chaco is

If I was in your position I'd be sleeping in a camper van near him with my chickens set up as well

Chaco is a she. FYI

 

[RoyalChick]

Both of these are on my list, plus a few others (choke cherry & service berry are native to here) and high bush blueberry. But, those are for a hedgerow - my next project, probably next year...gotta work on MY living quarters, too...roof still isn't fixed from tree falling on it last Aug/sept

There was someone on here who has a siberian pea hedgerow...they offered seedlings this spring if I wanted to come down and get them. Now I forgot who it was that had them...and forgot to bookmark the post!! If whoever has that great pea tree shrub hedge reads this...please let me know....sorry I forgot who it was!

I gave up on the pea tree idea as it is classified as invasive here.
Lilac is a good one.
Last year I developed a list - I will go look it up. It had Serviceberry on it and Honeyberry (which I already planted).

 

[RoyalChick]

Safety first, always. If everyone used pesticides carefully and properly there wouldn’t be problems. It’s unfortunate that too many people are either uneducated, lazy, or don’t care about handling these things properly… even some “professionals”. I’m quite serious in the thank you for properly using them. We had a big problem here with accidentally poisoned owls as well. (Not just the ones with the lead poisoning). Ironically, the more toxic poisons have the lesser impact on unintentional kills. You want the rodent to die really really close to the bait. I prefer snap traps for mice but rats are scary. The most common thing I catch in traps is my own fingers so…

I bought some snap traps designed for rats - they are terrifying so I have never actually used one.

 

[RoyalChick]

Today I got the strong aviary netting over two greenhouse frames, and a short stretch of electronet around the area to protect from ground predators. I opened a small entranceway from the big run out to the frames. They can have some unsupervised outdoor foraging this way until I get them moved to the summer (& shade) location.

We had a great time digging around the garden beds too - same thing, worm hunting!

Could you share what kind of greenhouse frames? I have been looking into doing exactly what you just described but am having trouble figuring out the right greenhouse frame.
It needs to be sturdy and some look like they are really flimsy and the sturdy ones look like a major construction project!
Also, are you planning on keeping them up with the netting through the winter (I am thinking about snow load).

 

[ChicoryBlue]

I might try around the pines, but it won't be easy....however 'not easy' doesn't mean 'impossible' Thanks both @BY Bob & @ChicoryBlue for keeping me 'honest' regarding hawks!

There is a video online - after a terrible hawk attack that pinned his bird against the fencing, this guy did just that - using aviary netting - it is similar to fishnet, very strong - cutting slits to go around his trees, and tying it / weaving in line to hold it together on the other side of each tree. The trees had an advantage of being built-in poles/posts for the netting, but he did extend his fence posts too.

 

[Ponypoor]

I was more thinking about whoever eats the rodent corpses. My understanding is that the dead rodents get eaten by wildlife who themselves get poisoned from the pesticide in the dead rodent.

Yes happens with those second generation pesticides more so. I keep my pesticides inside the barn where the vermin is. The barn mice/rats stay inside the barn where there is feed and safety.

I would say the vermin that was eaten by owls etc, likely were vermin that were poisoned by bait put outside to keep them out of buildings. That is just a recipe for disaster. I say keep everything inside contained, they can die in the barn walls mummified forever!