It's rat carnage out there!!!

[socks]

Hahaha! citygirl...I too enjoyed the imagery. Then again, I just started having trouble with rats so it may be me next....and of course I did post in Predators and Pests......we could try Pig Latin....

 

[SunnyCalifornia]

We have this weird rat/mouse mutation that lives around us. Its much bigger than a mouse, but much smaller than a rat.... and its all scrunchy and chubby, and WEIRD!! We call it our "skunk rat" after some commercial my DH saw.....

I don't watch much TV... tuned into BYC all night

Fortunately, there is a competition between Dixie the Delaware pullet, and my two cats, as to who can kill the most rodents. Seriously, one chicken has kept up with TWO cats....

but today... I saw one of the cats trying to take out the Delaware, so they must have been sensing the competition.... Leave it to a cat to play dirty!!

Dixie is fine...don't worry.

 

[Frosty]

Last year I had my own time with rats... they were only in the turkey barn because I am fortunate. My cats killed and ate the nasty things. I first had my suspicions when I started seeing holes in the floor of the turkey building (the only building that they cats couldn't get into). I was trying to figure out what made the holes but never saw the critters all winter. Then came spring... my first real proof was a half eaten rat in the barn where the cats were. Then one night, I walked into the turkey house to feed and came face to face with about a dozen of the nasty things and they just stared at me. They didn't even try to hide.

I tried mixing up a dough with flour, peanut butter, and sugar and feeding it to them long enough for them to see that they liked it, then I mixed in a lot of yeast with it. My theory was that they would eat it, the yeast would produce gas, and they would explode. It didn't work. So many nights I was out there with a pellet gun and a flashlight, waiting...

I installed a solar light so that I didn't have to use the flashlight. There were nights where I got six in one night. I still had the flashlight, so I could look down the holes, see a nose, and shoot. A bit creepy, having my face about a foot away from the hole, peering in. One night I shot one, it was bleeding and charged out of the hold right at me. From your description, I am sure you know how I jumped around screeching. It was 2 AM, the birds were sleeping. I reloaded as I ran and managed to shoot it again. And I will add that DH and DS never went out there. I think they are afraid of rats!

I don't know how many I shot total, then it started raining - for days - and the roof leaked. The floor turned into a mud pit so I had to move the turkeys and I think the few remaining rats got flooded out and left. I haven't seen them since, but from what I understand if you have rats there won't be mice. Apparently mice won't live in the same territory. I haven't seen any mice so either my barn cats and house cats are doing a great job, or....

 

[CMV]

Funny story.

 

[ganesha09]

....."mostly dead"...........

Loved "Princess Bride" great story!

 

[Fool]

Firmly tap the "dead" ones with a shovel before scooping and they won't come back to haunt you.

Dam those Zombie rats to he11.

 

[lebentier]

haha. never a dull moment with chickens.

 

[EweSheep]

 

[Okie Amazon]

We had a huge rat infestation several years ago when a drainage canal a few blocks away from our house was being enlarged and lined with cement. No chickens at the time, but our garden was being devastated. Rats on our tomato cages nibbling away, etc. At that time, we had Dobermans, so we just said to heck with the garden and turned 'em loose. We had a large patch of sweet potatoes that the rats loved to hang out in. A Dobe would go running thru the sweet potatoes, head not visible, and suddenly a rat would be flung into the air. They killed with one bite, tossed them and went for the next. I had to take them away from my grump, Freya, but Odin didn't want to eat them, he just loved killin' em! They made pretty short work of a LARGE infestation.

 

[ranchhand]

Now you know why I tolerate the zillion yellow rat snakes we have here.

The greedy ones go elsewhere, but the smaller ones get to stay around. 7 years and I haven't seen a rat or mouse yet! *knocks on wood*