Infested with Rats!!! Rat Proof Chicken Feeders Local Portland Vancouver Washington?

[Alagrace]

Hi Everyone, I'm wondering if anyone knows if Al's Rat Proof Chicken feeders sell locally in the Portland Vancouver Washington area before I spend money on shipping? We are infested with rats and I'm not sure what to do other than get the food contained. We have a metal container for storing the food. Tried rat traps, have a rat zapper but it keeps buzzing and not working. I don't want to use poison since we have kids, dogs and cats. And our neighbors have a daycare and dogs. My birds are freaked out roosting in the rafters and huddled together. We have burrows everywhere. Any suggestions? I am at a loss for how to get rid of them.

 

[amenfarm]

I was right were you are 6 months ago. I had such hugh amounts of dropping, I had to use a shopvac to get all of it out. Here's what we did:
1. I bought a baffle ( lid) for my feeders that hang with a chain- No more varmints dropping inside or chickens pooping inside.Ordered from Fleming outdoors-less than $4.00 each.
2. Mixed plaster of Paris with peanut butter made a paste, added a little veggie oil, rolled into balls and set on top of my metal feed can in a pie tin, leave out a tray of water, the water allows the PoP to harden quicker inside the varmint. The plaster of Paris will kill the mice over time, but their bodies will not be toxic to what ever eats the dead rodents. I'm careful to keep it high up and behind a locked barn door also 25 feet from said door. I have dogs also. I only put it out as needed, no droppings then I don't put any out. Took a month to start seeing bodies last time, usually you don't see bodies because they don't typical leave the nest when feeling ill. However, I did see a a hugh drop in the amount of dropping I was seeing early on.
3. Rewired the coop with small diameter hardware cloth. Wire over any holes or 1/4 or larger cracks. Flexible skulls these mice and rats have, they can restart their heart too.
4. Making sure I have no feed spills that aren't quickly swept up. Removed all feed at night into a closed and locked barrel. removing any veggie or treats before night from coop and/or run.
Try these tips and let me know how it goes.

 

[Alagrace]

Thank you. i will let you know how it goes!

 

[123RedBeard]

I wouldn't say that this is "rat proof" but ... They would have to chew through the wood ... If your handy, build your own!

https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/building-a-treadle-chicken-feeder

 

[RonP]

Posted to another query.
Hope it helps.:

My understanding is that rats/mice are everywhere.
They will congregate and breed where there is available food, water, and shelter.
Look closely around any fast food restaurant and you will see rat bait stations.

They will eventually come, the idea is to prevent them from establishing a colony.
If you see 1, there are probably fifty.
If you see two or more holes, expect dozens.

Keeping a rat trap/bait station baited 24/7 hopefully keeps the population from establishing near your food source. Once established, they are very difficult to eliminate.

Remember, chickens don't attract rats, food does.

That said, I fabricated black 4 inch circular x 18" long drainage plastic pipe as a bait station.
Placed along the outside of my coop, looks like drainage pipe (not unsightly).
I put a t fitting in the center, capped, for easy viewing once a week.
Inside I maintain commercial rat poison.

My run has food scraps 24/7.
My coop has food access 24/7.
Water access 24/7.

7 years, no sign of rats or mice...

Hope this helps.

 

[amenfarm]

I agree it's food, shelter and water not chickens that bring the rodents. However, I will not use any poisons that will continue to poison. I have hawks, owls, deer, chickens, and my own dogs that I do not want to poison. If you have a commerical poison that won't poison what eats the rodent-please share. Your quite right I've seen stations at walmart, fast food, police station etc..

I wouldn't say that this is "rat proof" but ... They would have to chew through the wood ... If your handy, build your own!

https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/building-a-treadle-chicken-feeder

I've been wanting this for a while. Much too expensive to buy.

 

[Egghead_Jr]

In three years of using chunx bait poison in tamper proof bait boxes I've only seen one varmit dead on the lawn in morning. All others went to den and pass there but after passing on food to brood. I put a bait box right in the run. Once you've taken care of the infestation you go through very little bait as it only has to take care of what's trying to move into the area. Oh and as for that one chipmunk that was dead on the lawn, I picked it up and put in trash before letting cats and chickens out.

 

[MysteriaSdrassa]

I have to say, in all the years I have raised chickens, I have never had to resort to poisons. That's not to say that I don't have rats and mice. Most of them tend to live very short lives though. I feed my girls outside year round. This keeps the food source outside and out of the coop. Stored feed is kept in metal containers so to get at any they would have to be checking out the feeders. And once there,, between the cats, my dog (he's a better vermin catcher than the cats) and the chickens themselves (yes, chickens are like mini velociraptors and will make quick meals of rats and mice) the critters don't tend to last long when they start poking there whiskery little noses out of there hidy holes

 

[Egghead_Jr]

I don't understand why anyone would resort to poison when it's the best front line deterrent. If used properly and not in pellet form then it's safe and should be a mainstay as much as feed and water dispensers in your run. If used from the start there is never a problem or even whisker of one.

To resort to implies it's the last line of defense. In reality it should be the first.

 

[whitg]

I don't know why I thought of this but my parents cut a hole in the bottom of their bully barn where they kept their tack and grain. The cats were able to come and go as they please and they kept food out there for them and after that they never had another mouse problem again. I don't know if you could make it small enough that the birds couldn't get out but the cats could get in. Plus you would have to find a bird friendly cat. Just an idea hahaha.