Maine

[superchemicalgirl]

After months of no rat activity 2 nights ago a rat moved in and started tunneling under the granite stairs we have leading up to the human house.

I pushed it back in yesterday, put the poison out and waited. It tunneled out the other side, then again excavated the side I had pushed in but the bait (3 blocks) is gone this morning.

 

[buckabucka]

This is a busy time of year for rats. Today I plan to put the final section of hardware cloth for the hoop coop in the ground. I am puzzled about where the are coming in, because I haven't seen a hole along that unprotected section, but the earth looks raised up there, like they may be entering below ground. I'll find out soon enough.

 

[superchemicalgirl]

This is a busy time of year for rats. Today I plan to put the final section of hardware cloth for the hoop coop in the ground. I am puzzled about where the are coming in, because I haven't seen a hole along that unprotected section, but the earth looks raised up there, like they may be entering below ground. I'll find out soon enough.

can you put out a game cam?

 

[buckabucka]

I do need to put out the game cam. The battery had died, but I think DH bought new ones.

Yesterday I did discover entry points where I lowered in the hardware cloth. Then I covered and stomped down all their interior pathways so I can monitor. I haven't been out there yet this morning, but I am eager to see what I find...

 

[Montsweag Hens]

Hello everyone! I'm a new chicken lady in Wiscasset, Maine. My ladies Sky and Firefly were born in May. Wanting to get prepared for winter. Any ideas?

 

[DwayneNLiz]

Hello everyone! I'm a new chicken lady in Wiscasset, Maine. My ladies Sky and Firefly were born in May. Wanting to get prepared for winter. Any ideas?

WELCOME!!!!

your coop is very nice and your ladies are very pretty!
You'll first want to look into a way to keep the waterer from freezing, many ways to do this like a heated bowl, heated base, fishtank heater, light bulb, etc

i am doing a fishtank heater for my ducks and a heated base for my chickens

 

[superchemicalgirl]

put your coop where it's easily accessible (you'll be shoveling out to it and hauling food/water) an likely it will freeze to the ground where it is and stay there until April. So plan now.

the game cam had zero rats on it but 45 pictures of skunks.

 

[DwayneNLiz]

put your coop where it's easily accessible (you'll be shoveling out to it and hauling food/water) an likely it will freeze to the ground where it is and stay there until April. So plan now.

the game cam had zero rats on it but 45 pictures of skunks.

rats may be too small for the camera to pick up, and maybe it was many pics of the same skunk

 

[superchemicalgirl]

I'm sure it was more than one skunk from the markings, but not sure how many different skunks.

I also regret to inform you that the rat is alive and well.

 

[lazy gardener]

Hello everyone! I'm a new chicken lady in Wiscasset, Maine. My ladies Sky and Firefly were born in May. Wanting to get prepared for winter. Any ideas?

The biggest issue I see is lack of ventilation in the coop area. In a small coop, it's very difficult to provide adequate ventilation without also having a draft blowing directly on the birds. If they don't have ventilation, they are in a humid frosty environment, perfect recipe for frost bite. They put out a lot of moisture in their respiration and feces. So, you're going to be fighting moisture, will need to have extra deep bedding to help hold heat, but will be limited due to low ceiling height. best bet might be to provide insulation from the outside, perhaps banking around but not against the coop/run with hay bales. Perhaps build a bank of hay bales on the north and west, and put up some plastic screening on the south and east, building them a protected run that is accessible for you to tend the coop. I'd be interested in hearing how others with small coops manage through the winter.