Minnesota!

[KlopKlop]

Yes I'm no fan either but with rats it's more about getting rid of a predator I prefer natural methods like a working cat lol

I agree. Not sure how long you have been following the thread but I am 'brooding' 4 kittens in my basement whose mama was hit by a car. They will be resident mousers when they are older

 

[willzpapa]

Good on ya

 

[gofeedthegirls]

We have a feral cat hanging around our place. Besides the foot prints on my winshield she doesnt bother me. Im allergic to cats but every farm shpuld have a good mouser or two.

 

[willzpapa]

I hate to hear or read that a beloved pet suffers because of rodents

 

[Bogtown Chick]

Yeah it's not even a consideration at my place.

 

[ejb3810]

If you have rats, hopefully it is not a large number of them. You can have rats anywhere, as they are little more than large mice. You should be able to trap them, and poisoning does have other potential bad repercussions.
Then again it could be some other type of rodent as well?

 

[KlopKlop]

I am going to get better traps and see what happens. My dogs weren't in the shed at all (didn't want their noses snapped) so they didn't carry off a trap. No idea

I though maybe the trap snapped and bounced somewhere at first but I have looked all over, plus 2x in a row? Unlikely.

 

[lalaland]

just another thought,, what about putting layers of newspaper down on poop board and everyday just rolling up layer and tossing it in compost??? any thoughts???

I put the paper feed sacks down and sprinkle a little hay. the hay makes it easier to dump the droppings into a pail to take to the garden/compost pile because the droppings are less likely to stick to the hay. Half the coop has a droppings board and I wish the whole coop did, but the second half has shelves up way high. THey ignore the roost in that half in favor of the shelves, and even if I try to block them off from the shelves, they wedge themselves in amongst whatever is on the shelf.

Its a PITA to clean the shelves, partly because they are above eye level.

In my early years of chicken keeping, I was more fastidious. Now? well, I might clear off the droppings once a month or so. In the winter more often because of the moisture, and because psychologically I can't be comfortable thinking of the hens roosting above a frozen pile.

I hate those plastic woven sacks. They breakdown pretty fast outside, into tiny shreds of plastic. ALways happier when I get the paper sacks.

 

[The BlanchRanch]

Awesome news Klop. Except for the part where they don't pay you for your time..... They should at least throw a little something extra in like a chain and bar.

 

[lalaland]

I am going to get better traps and see what happens. My dogs weren't in the shed at all (didn't want their noses snapped) so they didn't carry off a trap. No idea

I though maybe the trap snapped and bounced somewhere at first but I have looked all over, plus 2x in a row? Unlikely.

rats will carry off a trap.

I have rats. today, there was evidence besides the tunnels - there must have been a herd of rats judging from the poop piles. Never seen that. scares the heck out of me, it is a rat siege.

remember, a couple weeks ago I said I was headed out to get rat poison. Well, I spent an hour reading labels and didn't get any.

Now, I have to do it. Wilzpapa, what kind of rat poison did you use?