Fluffy Butt Acres: Stories of our flock

[BY Bob]

I remove all food and water at night. But there is still feed that has been spilt. I don’t see the rats at night, as the chooks hunt them during the day.

When I just had the horses I would use poison to control them; of course now with the chooks I can’t do that.

I have had luck with the electric zap traps and those black plastic snap traps (hard on the fingers though!).

Tonight I will see about putting out my snap trap.

@RoyalChick used a bait that was nonpoisonous to chickens. Perhaps she could share that with you.

 

[Marie2020]

Belated Caturday

It's a stand off.
I've tried for 3 days to add a warm pillow too his kennel.

Sorry. Something stopped me from posting this picture and found it as I came back in

 

[Ponypoor]

Noooooooo!

You need to borrow one of these two.

View attachment 4224810View attachment 4224811

I had a mouse head in bathroom yesterday morning and a carcass outside the back door as well.

Tax:
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Hattie is in full molt. I'm glad she is going early this year.

I had a lovely barn cat, alas he passed long before the chickens arrived on scene. Missy is a good mouser but she won’t go to the barn, those chickens are just too scary!!

Awww poor Hattie; I hate seeing them moulting. Buttercup is all pin feathers, poor old girl. But also glad it’s mild at the moment.

 

[bgmathteach]

It made me wonder. If you make/buy a rat proof food cabin and install an auto pop door with a light sensor on it, it is a way to give the chickens access to food during the day.

Just having an auto door to open during the day won't be enough - they will alter their behavior to be active during the day to feed. It needs to be a feeder they can't use...and that your chooks don't spill much with.

Ask me how I know they alter their behavior????? My rats hear me in the morning and come out when I feed the chooks (and there is always spillage from teh chickens that they do happily clean up at night.

Seems I get 3 or 4, and a mom has 8 replacements

 

[Ponypoor]

Just having an auto door to open during the day won't be enough - they will alter their behavior to be active during he day to feed. It needs to be a feeder they can't use...and that your chooks don't spill much with.

Ask me how I know they alter their behavior????? My rats hear me in the morning and come out when I feed the chooks (and there is always spillage from teh chickens that they do happily clean up at night.

Seems I get 3 or 4, and a mom has 8 replacements

Yep detest them. I am surprised they don’t seem to hang around here during the summer.

Wish the chooks would kill more of them! But that’s a pretty big rat I saw. She needs to be relocated to the manure pile!

 

[bgmathteach]

@RoyalChick used a bait that was nonpoisonous to chickens. Perhaps she could share that with you.

That has helped here, but I fear there is just too many. I am at my wits end here with them. I'm tempted to hire the mink guy - wish he wasn't so far away!

 

[SimpleJenn]

I got a full dozen eggs yesterday.

The flock complaining because kiddo and I were out on the porch. They think the back porch should be for birds.

Momma Delft. She's trying her best but one of the chicks is not very cooperative.

 

[Ponypoor]

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I got a full dozen eggs yesterday.
View attachment 4224828
The flock complaining because kiddo and I were out on the porch. They think the back porch should be for birds.
View attachment 4224829
Momma Delft. She's trying her best but one of the chicks is not very cooperative.

Likely a boy…

 

[Ponypoor]

@RoyalChick used a bait that was nonpoisonous to chickens. Perhaps she could share that with you.

That would be awesome, I am extremely leery of using chemicals on the rats - I don’t think they chooks would be able to kill them, but if mice ate it I would worry about them eating that.

 

[RoyalChick]

Just having an auto door to open during the day won't be enough - they will alter their behavior to be active during the day to feed. It needs to be a feeder they can't use...and that your chooks don't spill much with.

Ask me how I know they alter their behavior????? My rats hear me in the morning and come out when I feed the chooks (and there is always spillage from teh chickens that they do happily clean up at night.

Seems I get 3 or 4, and a mom has 8 replacements

My rats were around day and night. Apparently less dominant rats get the day shift (read that when I went down some rat rabbit hole!).
Rat contraceptive and rat proof feeder plus once no food on the ground chicken-safe bait.
I found baits and traps useless until there was no chicken feed on the ground. They only went for bait once they were hungry because of lack of chicken food.