Maine

[buckabucka]

Our rats are alive and well also. I'm not sure where they are coming in. They make tunnels everywhere along the edges inside, but if you dig them up, they mostly lead to other tunnel stretches (rather than plummeting down under the hardware cloth.

We set up the game cam aimed at the most suspect tunnel, but I placed it too close to the hole and it didn't work. This is a busy week for me, so I can't really do anything out there. DH did put fox urine around and set up the game cam in a different location, so we'll see if anything shows up today.

Occasionally, the game cam motion detector has trouble picking up rats, but we can set it to take a photo every minute (or other interval). I've seen them more than once just by walking around in there.

Welcome Montsweag! I'd be tempted to build a three-sided shed over the coop. Snow will be blowing into the run.

 

[lazy gardener]

Our rats are alive and well also. I'm not sure where they are coming in. They make tunnels everywhere along the edges inside, but if you dig them up, they mostly lead to other tunnel stretches (rather than plummeting down under the hardware cloth.

We set up the game cam aimed at the most suspect tunnel, but I placed it too close to the hole and it didn't work. This is a busy week for me, so I can't really do anything out there. DH did put fox urine around and set up the game cam in a different location, so we'll see if anything shows up today.

Occasionally, the game cam motion detector has trouble picking up rats, but we can set it to take a photo every minute (or other interval). I've seen them more than once just by walking around in there.

Welcome Montsweag! I'd be tempted to build a three-sided shed over the coop. Snow will be blowing into the run.

I agree with Bucka for several reasons: Those birds are going to be stir crazy being cooped in there during the winter. If you build a shelter over it, you can then open the coop to give them an expanded run. The other thought I had expressed in the lengthy response I typed yesterday got sucked into cyberspace is this: It appears that your coop is seriously lacking in ventilation. Hard to ventilate such a small area without putting the birds in direct draft. Also, they put out a LOT of moisture from respiration and poo. That moisture will condense into frost, especially around their heads, and on the roof over their heads. Perfect set up for frost bite.

 

[superchemicalgirl]

I don't mean to brag, but...



I was concerned about putting traps out in that area (near a birdfeeder and alive with skunks). The rat wasn't eating the poison (as I had previously thought) and I hate resorting to poison due to downstream effects if I can help it. I thought of putting out a chicken cage with wide bars and a trap inside, and hopefully not finding a skunk with its arm caught the next morning.

Went out at 0400 and found this wonderful sight.

This round goes to me.

 

[woods79]

Sorry need to vent if anyone that seen my post and coop you know we planned for chickens and have adapted and made changes all summer with it and our run..... Have a neighbor that got 6 chicks in the spring before we did, now grown and laying, they have no coop just keeps them in a pen not much larger than a 2 larger dog crates

. Now that winter is coming he has no place for them, he never built a shelter or coop all summer, they also live in a rental home and may not be able to and I wonder if they were even allowed to have them seeming how the home owners live out of state. They asked my 14 year old to ask me if we can take them in for the winter they would pay for feed but want their eggs.... I had to say NO seeming how we just took in 7 and have no room and I do not trust this family as far as I can toss and elephant. Frustrates me to no end when people do not plan when it comes to animals or to have the balls to come to me directly.

 

[Montsweag Hens]

Thanks for helpful advice. How high do you think we need to go with the hay bales?

 

[lazy gardener]

I don't blame you. I would be stomping mad beyond livid. I would also be royally P.O. Is it time to call local Animal Control? These birds deserve shelter in the winter. They deserve shelter in the summer for that matter, and you should in no way, shape or fashion be guilted into providing that shelter. And to say that they want you to take all the risk of taking in strange birds, want you to do all of the work and just hand over the eggs? I'd be laughing out loud in their general direction. There, I think I'm done venting, also!!!

 

[woods79]

I don't blame you.  I would be stomping mad beyond livid.  I would also be royally P.O.  Is it time to call local Animal Control?  These birds deserve shelter in the winter.  They deserve shelter in the summer for that matter, and you should in no way, shape or fashion be guilted into providing that shelter.  And to say that they want you to take all the risk of taking in strange birds, want you to do all of the work and just hand over the eggs?  I'd be laughing out loud in their general direction.  There, I think I'm done venting, also!!!

Thank-you for the additional vent it does suck and ever worse the animal control in the area tends to be a no show or call back on things most the time.

 

[buckabucka]

I don't mean to brag, but... I was concerned about putting traps out in that area (near a birdfeeder and alive with skunks). The rat wasn't eating the poison (as I had previously thought) and I hate resorting to poison due to downstream effects if I can help it. I thought of putting out a chicken cage with wide bars and a trap inside, and hopefully not finding a skunk with its arm caught the next morning. Went out at 0400 and found this wonderful sight. This round goes to me.

I like the idea of snap trap in a cage! Maybe we could even put poison water in a cage, if we only uncovered it at night (I worry about curious birds in daylight). I could set the game cam on it to see if it was getting used...

 

[LadyCluck77]

That's a really great idea! Here's an electrocution trap, hope it's big enough, it's in my grain shed now, trying to trap the rat of unusual size.

 

[buckabucka]

I had one of those traps, but different brand. I did catch mice in it several times, but not rats. My machine died eventually (not a battery issue). Of course, I was not patient enough to follow the instructions of putting out bait for a while without the machine on, before trying to zap them. Let us know how it works for you.

Yesterday, I followed a tunnel in the hoop coop and found the spot where the rats are coming in under the hardware cloth, which is two feet down. I dug down another 8 inches or so below that (our soil is sand). I did not try to block their tunnel, but instead built a cage of sorts. It has a hardware cloth floor, sides and top, - roughly a 16" cube, and their tunnel leads right into it. I covered it all with dirt again.

I was pleased that they did not find their way in over there last night. There is another weak spot, right at ground level in the other half of the hoop coop, and it looks like some may have squeezed in there, because there was some digging on that side. I tried to patch that area today, and then smoothed out all the soil so I can check for tunnels tomorrow.

DH has put poison water in a cage in the garden hoop house, which he only uncovers at night, just in case a songbird flies in there. The rat adventures continue!