Fluffy Butt Acres: Stories of our flock

[BY Bob]

Maybe get two more Polish, Justin case?

If only. I had trouble finding these 2. Let alone 2 more.

 

[featherhead007]

If only. I had trouble finding these 2. Let alone 2 more.

Bob, I feel your pain in this. Out here in California, silkies and Polish Roos and hens can be found at any feed store sometimes even tractor supply. But keep looking. I know that you are not a man who gives up.

 

[Sylvester017]

We also only feed our cats once a day in the evening to get them in at night. That way they are more hungry in the morning and they play less when they do catch something. Only problem is there are no more rabbits and rats for them!

Rats are sneaky burrowers. You may have them in the area & never see them ~ it may depend on whether they are an underground burrowing community type, or junk pile inhabitants, or barn dwellers, or heaven forbid, house/building dwellers, etc. They are everywhere whether we see them or not. Ponypoor may never have seen her barn rat if it were not for her night camera. They scurry around in the dark when dogs & cats are not around... & they run very fast when startled.

 

[rural mouse]

Oh please share if you do get snow.

That's the plan, provided there's enough light on a work day. If a day off, I'm going for video

 

[rural mouse]

That's not in the run, it's in the courtyard between the 2 coops, where the birch tree stood.

Good reason to roof/ fence that area for yet another segment to the complex....maybe with the idea of planting a shrub (rather than a tree) next spring and can keep them off of it while it gets established

 

[Sylvester017]

Maybe try putting the rat trap on the ‘path’ where you see it going a lot? Or put the food away in a rat proof bin or shed or something at nights. That way the only food is in the rat trap!

Moving a trap makes rats suspicious/wary. Keep it in one place near telltale droppings w/ really yummy food bait & change the bait fresh daily. Leave the yucky droppings alone so other rats know it is a safe well traveled rat trail... then ZAP!

 

[Sylvester017]

I fully agree I need to be armed while outside. I personally cannot at the moment. Trust me when I say both the shot gun and the rifles kick like the dickens. Either one could potentially undo everything the surgeon did for me a month ago. I can use and shoot the pistol properly. For a potentially quick moving target I do not feel comfortable with aiming properly and getting a good shot. If I have to go that route, I want a good clean shot. Just because they are a scourge and I hate them, I do not want them to suffer for a ill aimed shot either.

I have plan B in the works right now. I just need Betty's husband to have the moment to bring the solution to me with his truck as it will not fit in the back of the SUV, we tried.

Huge live animal trap. I saw it Monday when he brought it down to the diner and we tried to fit it in the back of mom's SUV. I was leery when he offered and described this trap because he told me to bait it with one of my chickens. I'm like, uhh, heck no. Then I saw the trap. The section the chicken would go in is fully enclosed with 1/4 in rat wire so the coyote cannot reach them. I then would also bait the part of the trap for the "animal" for sardines or cat food. Once trapped I can immediately remove my chicken without having to release the "animal". Technically I would not have to use one of my chickens but he said if it is coming for my chickens, then I need to lure it off the hill with what it is after to make it successful. Once trapped he said he would come get the trap and so not to offend certain neighbors deal with it elsewhere. He then said it might be worthwhile to reset it to see if it is a lone coyote or if I'm dealing with multiple.

Mom said it was big, but lanky and clearly not full grown. She thinks it is a youngster who got "kicked" out of his/her pack which is why my chickens may be easy pickings for it.

Just my 2 cents but I would not traumatize a live chicken in that partitioned trap... maybe use a slab of beef or carcass from the deli market to lure the coyote? A live chicken would have a heart attack in that coyote cage

 

[Sylvester017]

The rat comes out from under that plywood I have leaning against the wall there, I really need to remove the plywood I guess.

I also need to strip out the bedding from that pen, the chooks have spilt their feed on the ground which, while gives them all something to do scratching around, also tows in the vermin.

All their food containers I close up and I dump their water so there is no water available and the only food is what the chickens don’t find scratching around.

I have tried many different food types in the traps but nothing is a favourite for them. Dratted creatures!

DH got another rat this morning... a really big one. I asked what bait caught this one ~ he uses a cheese or p-nut butter filled cracker w/ a cubelet of pre-packaged cheese cube next to the cracker ~ the rat's choice. ZAP! 2nd rat this week...

Kensizer trap from Amazon

 

[Sylvester017]

Dry ice packed into the rat hole can work, especially if you can block the other entrances

The mink man on youtube uses water hoses to fill up the rat hole/s but only cuz he has a mink & rat dogs to kill escaping rats out of the hole/s.

 

[BY Bob]

Bob, I feel your pain in this. Out here in California, silkies and Polish Roos and hens can be found at any feed store sometimes even tractor supply. But keep looking. I know that you are not a man who gives up.

I'm happy with the 3 I have cobbled together. This is the maximum number of chooks I am comfortable supporting in my yard.