Mice in chicken coop

[Nifty-Chicken]

aren't most rats / mice nocturnal? I only see / hear the little buggers when my girls are all fast asleep.

 

[Nifty-Chicken]

Well, the wife just got back from Home Depot with 3 huge rat traps... these things are no joke!

I realized I had to be careful with placement as it could easily snap a curious hen's neck. I leaned a 2x12 against the wall by my feeder so only a fat rat could get through. I bated it with peanut butter and stuck the trap behind the board. We also have a storage van that it/they are frequenting, so I put a trap in there baited with a banana. They say, for rats, peanut butter is best, then bacon, then fruits/vegetables.

I hope to have some good news in the morning!

 

[LC]

There is a milo field next to my property and some rats have left the milo and dug in right outside my chicken coop.
I saw the droppings in the feeder.
Anyway, I set a rat trap just outside of the coop and usually get one every night. Lots of little ones and got the daddy last weekend. He was a big one.
You don't have to set the trap directly in the coop - bait it with peanut butter and set it outside the coop and you should do ok. Be careful with these ... like somebody else said, the business end of these things is serious.

 

[chickbea]

Quote:
They are supposed to be nocturnal, but I see little mice all day long. I think the temptation of that free food is too much for them.
However, the mice aren't my greatest problem as far as feed loss - it's the chipmunks! They may be cuties, but they can empty the feeder in minutes! I've found chipmunk stashes with pounds of my feed in them! The girls love to hunt the mice, but seem happy to watch the chipmunks scamper all over.

 

[Nifty-Chicken]

Well, I've had 3 traps out for 3 nights and got nothin!

I put them all in places where I've actually SEEN the rat running around... I just don't get it (literally and figuratively).

I guess I'll be patient.... either that or stay up all night with a light and a pellet gun!

 

[chickbea]

What's your bait? Perhaps you need to provide more of a buffet!

 

[Nifty-Chicken]

Quote:
Oh... I've got a buffet. one trap has peanut butter, one has banana, one has bacon: the top three items listed on Victor (trap manufacturer's) site.

 

[LC]

Here's a rat that I had in the trap when I came home from work today. It's the second adult I've caught ... hope I got the breeding pair.
This big one got caught in a Victor Rat Trap w/peanut butter set outside the coop.

 

[Nifty-Chicken]

Great news! I got the little bugger that's been eating my chicken's food and tearing up / pooping on everything in our storage van.

Of the three foods I had for him guess what he went for: the bacon!

 

[cookinmom]

Great rat pics y'all!!!