How big of a chick can a rat get?

[Chicalina]

Problem is, by living under your shed, they have made themselves your problem, and your neighbours will be blaming you for their rat problems!

 

[Micmac1234]

Try locating the entry holes to their den, shoving some solid block bait (not loose grain type) down the holes and then block the holes off with a brick. I have had success with this, and it means the chickens can't get to the bait and poison themselves.

I actually did that! And then they reappeared… they were dormant for awhile and then the holes came back. And there’s 4. I showed the exterminator a picture of the rat I killed with a snap trap and even he was impressed at her size not a good sign.
I don’t want to do the poison anymore now that I have the cats because I don’t want them to get poisoned.

 

[Micmac1234]

Problem is, by living under your shed, they have made themselves your problem, and your neighbours will be blaming you for their rat problems!

Indirectly blaming me because they have no idea where they live! And it seems rats/mice are inevitable when you have chickens.

 

[Poultrybonkers]

Trapped chicks or rats?! Or cats

Rats lol I had three escape outside got one easily other two were messing around so used atrap with boiled egg caught both at once lol

 

[mcdze]

some types of rats are extremely hard to get conventionally .. id get a decent co2 pistol and a holster and keep it on me anytime im around the coop or shed .. practice with it till your a dead shot at point blank, like 5-10 ft .. theyll screw up eventually, youll open a nest box or something and there one will be, put his lights out ..

 

[Coffetym]

I am currently dealing with rats in my coop, we have cats to mitigate the issue, but I want to start integrating my baby chicks into the coop. The chicks are in a rat proof brooder in my shed, but I want to move them into the coop and I don’t know if I need to try and fit the brooder into the coop but it might be too big to put through the doorway or if I can put them in a dog crate, which rats would be able to get through. The rats eat the chicken food and don’t bother the big chickens and since I have two cats now, I’m wondering if they would keep the rats away from the chicks or if I need to keep them in the rat proof brooder. Chicks will be 5 weeks on Thursday.

I recommend bait stations! They’re weatherproof & tamper proof. Your animals can’t get to the poison inside. Put them around your property, house, coop… etc. These I’m posting the link to does not come with the poison blocks.

https://www.homedepot.com/p/Harris-Rat-and-Mouse-Bait-Station-3-Pack-3RATBOX/311001180

 

[McChooky]

The guy who used to live here never hauled his garbage off and had a lot of rats.
I kept everything locked up and starved them out. Its hard to get rid of them.They'll eat each other in the absence of food.

 

[Micmac1234]

just an update! The cat has been amazing for the rat problem. I’m seeing hardly any signs of them now and she heads out hunting every night

 

[Peppercorngal]

To get rid of rats you have to keep food put away each night. They will stay away during the day as long as you leave feeders out at night. We used catch boxes and caught 17 rats this spring. Then I put poison under the coops and they went after that big time. Every night I cart the 4 feeders to the shed and lock them up for the night. No more rats now. The key is to eliminate the food.

 

[Tired old Rooster]

Stop with the cats, they are useless unless they are feral (in which case they will be more of a problem to chooks than the rats). Get rat hunting dogs.