how do we stop rats?

[KB1PQP]

We got rats killing our chickens. Or some kind of animal doing it.

 

[bobbi-j]

Poison. But it needs to be where your pets or other animals can't get at it. Good luck.

 

[Princess_Layer]

We noticed we've had rats in our run, not the coop as we lock it up at night.

Where do you suggest putting the poison outside the run/coop

We also have a 3 year old daughter.

 

[fancbrd4me02]

Exclusion is the best way to deal with rodent problems. Most people here use hardware cloth for thier runs. You must bury the wire to keep them from tunneling under. Fill gaps and holes with steel wool and insulation spray foam.

 

[Stonerowfarm]

We have had a horrible problem with rats this winter. One of the them actually went from the main barn into the banty coop and in the span of 5-6 days killed two silkies. We ended up turning the banty coop into Fort Knox, covering any possible opening. As far as management, we have been live trapping them and disposing of them, sometimes getting two or three in the trap at once. With the chickens, goats, dogs and cats around here I wasn't going to trust poison because of secondary exposure.

There are some good ideas about trapping them in a bucket with a soda can on a string stretched across it. Some people put water in the bucket, others just dispose of them after they are caught. Either way, regardless of your method, try to cover any possible opening to secure the coop. Also be watchful of new holes they may make. We covered a couple holes in our main coop (larger hens) and discovered after a few weeks, a new hole.

Good luck, this seems to be the year of the rat :-(

 

[ty_09]

theres a rat poison in some stores that kill rats but wont kill your chickens if the chickens eat it. not sure what brand it is but my uncles uses it to kill rats that get inside his chicken houses. however, we have rats that run around our coops too but we've never experienced a rat killing a chicken before though or atleast we dont know that a rat killed the chicken.

 

[goldnchocolate]

I have a major rat population here. I'm trying the Plaster of Paris Peanut Butter Balls that I've been reading about. I went to the hardware store, today, and bought a nice big container of plaster of paris. I mixed it with enough peanut butter to form a nice firm ball. I then broke off pieces of the mixture, approx the size of grapes, and rolled them into nice little balls.

I had made only around 10 balls before I had to stop to put the kids to bed so I put those balls out in the chicken run where all of the rat holes are. I put the kids to bed and then finished making the rest of the balls. When I went to put them outside with the other balls--the other balls were gone already. I had my flashlight with me so I was looking to see if maybe the rats had just moved the balls. What did I see but a rat's head poking up out of one of the rat holes in the ground

. I said, "Hello there Mr. Rat. Come and get some more balls....eat all that you want....hahahaha"...<insert maniacal laughter here>

Actually, the little balls smelled like peanut butter fudge.

 

[blacktailsmom]

We have one that doesn't seem to bother the girls, goes in at night, but must eat the food. The idea of germs and fleas bother me. I haven't figured out how he/she is getting in and out, no holes, no gnawing that I have found. Just yucky rat poop.

 

[chickenwhisperer]

JRT= no rats

 

[D'Angelo N Va.]

clean the hen house out real good, put down poison at night while the chicks go up on the roost, but besure to take it up before a.m. when the chicksne come down off the roost.