I need advice, BIGTIME.

[wbruder17]

Yes, the hole looks like that. We've been having rat problems in other places of the yard as well...under bird feeders etc. Will they climb up to kill a pheasant? Or will they be happy with the food leftover? If I plug the hole, will they just dig a hole? How do I plug the hole when they obviously can get through "Fort Knox". Will they ever NOT be a problem or is this something I'm probably going to have to deal with forever?

 

[Rare Feathers Farm]

Bury your wire down about 1 foot and then out like an "L" shape, AWAY from the coop...then put in large rocks/gravel and fill back up the hole. That's they way I do my pens and so far, so good...

 

[dadof4]

Rats.

 

[jeb251]

when I was growing up we had a similar problem, it turned out to be weasels, sometimes they ate the head but nothing else

 

[MMPoultryFarms]

If you Pour gas in the hole and bury the holes fumes will kill them before they can dig. its how my pappy did it its how I do it. also works with yotes Soak a shirt on a stick with gas and set it on fire get it nice and burning then beat it out and throw it in the hole and stand back with a 12 guage and bai bai coyote most of the time rats live in the burrow creating a den inside but this isnt always the case so if you can set sticky traps safely at both entrance and exit that just might get em also another problem is sometimes there just tunnels for traveling and there not permanant homes and I also heard just now from a friend of mine who is here that rats can make several escape routes in these tunnels so he said to use bait. problem I see with that is he raises cattle not chickens If a chicken sees the dead rat it might try to eat it and could die. He attempted to assure me chickens cant die because they dont have stomachs I am gonna leave this one to the byc pro's instead of my evil red neck ways.