My rat bait station

[collingwood]

I'm glad to hear about your success!

 

[zazouse]

The way to use bait is put it out until it's not getting eaten anymore, it takes a while to kill them.

Great answer, i also put out bait like this and repeat every 3 months only rats i see are dead ones, i use to see them in the barn at night even on top of the roof but not any more.

 

[kculbert]

I was using rat bait under the coop but I read that the chickens will eat the poisoned rats and possibly die. Is this a legitimate concern?

 

[zazouse]

I have 100's of free range birds of various types and i have never lost one to eating a dead rat

nor have i lost any dogs and i have 8 here.

 

[seminolewind]

zazouse, I have never seen a picture like that!!!! Had to unplug the pc and show it to my hubby in the next room.

Honey, the idea is to eliminate all the chicken food and put out bait stations. I cover all the feeders with cans at night. I'm up to 3 bait stations.
2 were recently empty and I refilled a few days ago. It gives me great joy to know that some rodents out there are thinking that I care enough to feed them, LOL

The first day after I started with the bait stations, I found 6 dead rats, and probably dozens that I didn't find. When poisoned, rats tend to run away in search of water I think. Or hide when they're sick. I've never had a chicken eating a rat. On occasion, I've seen a dead rat being ignored by 30 chickens. I do patrol the yard daily just because I can.

kculbert, I used to put the bait under the coop with wire cable holding it under the coop. Chickens eating dead rats is a concern, and the best thing to do is to just browse the property.

You can place the bait station wherever you think the rats travel, usually against the wall of the coop. I've had to move one several times to find a popular area.

This is how I cover the bowls. I have 5 set up.

 

[RonP]

Great answer, i also put out bait like this and repeat every 3 months only rats i see are dead ones, i use to see them in the barn at night even on top of the roof but not any more.

Posted to another query.
Hope it helps.:

My understanding is that rats/mice are everywhere.
They will congregate and breed where there is available food, water, and shelter.
Look closely around any fast food restaurant and you will see rat bait stations.

They will eventually come, the idea is to prevent them from establishing a colony.
If you see 1, there are probably fifty.
If you see two or more holes, expect dozens.

Keeping a rat trap/bait station baited 24/7 hopefully keeps the population from establishing near your food source. Once established, they are very difficult to eliminate.

Remember, chickens don't attract rats, food does.

That said, I fabricated black 4 inch circular x 18" long drainage plastic pipe as a bait station.
Placed along the outside of my coop, looks like drainage pipe (not unsightly).
I put a t fitting in the center, capped, for easy viewing once a week.
Inside I maintain commercial rat poison.

My run has food scraps 24/7.
My coop has food access 24/7.
Water access 24/7.

5 years, no sign of rats or mice...

Hope this helps.

 

[seminolewind]

Ron I think your bait station looks pretty good. But I think I would add stringing the bait so they can't be carried out. Does that ever happen?

My neighbor has chickens and is clueless. He does not speak English. I hope that by locking up all the food and having bait stations will keep them away from me. I'm always on the lookout, as well, for any sign of rat, such as rat poop in corners, etc.

 

[RonP]

They did steal the bait often, but I never saw them outside the station.

I think they carry it off to their shelters to eat later.

I just refill till it remains.

I haven't had issues in years.

I replace the baits mostly, simply because I don't want baits more than 6 month old, just in case another rat wanders in.

Cheap insurance.

 

[collingwood]

Do rat traps without poison work? Because I want to catch the rats and feed them to my chickens!

 

[seminolewind]

Ick. I have had no luck without food. I have had some luck with snap traps but that's one at a time. I have a zapper that never zapped anyone. I would not be feeding rats to chickens because mine years ago ate some rat babies and got full of round worms from them. In one pen I have, I had a hen die from Capillaria worms and there had never been anything in the pen except possibly a rat because that's the only thing that could have gotten it at one point.