OMG I just found a rat in the nest box!!!

[sophiejw]

I just went to shut the chickens up for the night and there was a rat asleep in the nest box with them!

It legged it when I shone the light in there, don't know where it went.

Please help me, I can't be doing with rats, and it can't be good for the chickens. How do I get rid of rat (and no doubt all it's friends that I didn't see). I'm really really freaked out!

It's a normal hen house, up on breeze blocks supposedly to keep rats out though there is a bit of a gap underneath where the clean out drawer doesn't quite go back in all the way anymore. I've had the chickens just over a year and this is the first time I've seen any evidence of rats around them.

Help please!!!

 

[Chick named Lola]

Where there is one....well you know... What we do is to purchase bait online as well as the locking bait boxes. My husband had hired a company but they charged an arm and a leg to do the same thing. He orders a five gallon bucket of the stuff (use goves when you handle it) they are little blue blocks. Put the bait boxes up against your house, barn whatever as that is how rat's travel...they go in, eat it, leave and die somewhere. We have been using it for about 8 years now and it has worked well. I was worried as I have a smallish dog but the boxes lock and dogs, kids, chickens etc can't get into them. They are those black plastic boxes you see around the outside of stores/malls etc... I will ask my hubby who he order's it from but I'm sure you can do a search and find it.

 

[oesdog]

Quote:
I feel for you -

We have mice - One of my hens is convinced they are chicks and attacks me when I try to shoo them from under her butt and out of her feathers!!!!!!
She is a wee bit dim! Next year I will let her brood real chicks! I am sooo glad they are not rats!!!!!!! Poor you they will take all your eggs! And kill any chicks so you have to get rid quickly!!!

Oesdog

 

[dawnjoennikki98]

 

[sophiejw]

Thanks for the replies everyone. I am going to go and see what our local hardware store has in the way of anti rat stuff later today (couldn't go yesterday as I was working).

Went to do the hens this morning, there was a huge fat rat in there with them, horrible thing, saw it out of the corner of my eye. Anyway it's too fat to get through the wire of the run so I've locked it in there (and locked the hens out, they're a bit soggy as it's raining but they'll be OK for a bit and there's other places they can shelter)- my husband is going to shoot it when he gets home.

Feeling even more freaked out now though, I have found THREE dead baby rats about the place this morning- about half grown. No obvious sign of cause of death on them either, I can only assume it's one of the cats. So have gone from not having a rat problem 3 days ago to dead rats all over the place and a monster one in the run.

Eeew I hate rats

 

[Tropical Chook]

I've seen one or two at night, but it seems they are only going in for some pellets. I do trap them, but I don't think you will ever get rid of them completely. I've only ever lost one egg to them, and have never had a chick killed by them. Even so, I don't like them around, so I'll continue trapping and disposing on a regular basis. Also, I actually want one or two of them around because My Rottweiler firmly believes the day will come when she will succeed at catching one, and what that means for me, is that she sits up all night next to the coop waiting for them

While she can't seem to catch a rat, her presence will certainly keep other critters away.

 

[Sjisty]

I lost five chicks under a hen in my locked coop overnight a while back. The only possibility was a rat. I since found one nesting in a nest box. Now I have "Just One Bite" placed in long PVC tubes on the walls and a couple of bait stations in the feed shed. We found one dead rat but nothing else.

I also sprinkled DE on the floor of the feed shed so I can monitor how many little footprints there are. I haven't seen any new ones in a couple of weeks, so hopefully our population is about gone.

Good luck with your rat situation!