Pepper to prevent rats and squirrels from getting in the duck food?

[Daisy and Daffy]

I feed my ducks from a bowl each night and they eat overnight before being let out to free range in the morning. We have a rat problem where the rats will eat out of the bowl, in the coop, etc. They eat a pretty large amount of food and I'm tired of fat rats

I noticed the rats don't come out at daytime, so now my ducks are fed during the day instead, no feed at night. But I still see rats every so often.

I was wondering if it's safe to mix red pepper flakes into the feed to prevent mammals from eating it?

 

[KaleIAm]

You want to mix it into the food your ducks would eat? I personally wouldn't do that.

We used to have many rats. Many many rats. They packed up and left when food was no longer available. I just fed my ducks meals a few times a day, as much as they could eat. I stood near to shoo away the rats, as they were numerous and accustomed to me and the ducks. It took just a few days for most of them to leave and a week for the last determined few. After about 2 weeks of meals we started leaving food out all day again, but we do pick it up at night.

We also stopped composting food during that time. We haven't had any problems since then.

 

[Daisy and Daffy]

You want to mix it into the food your ducks would eat? I personally wouldn't do that.

We used to have many rats. Many many rats. They packed up and left when food was no longer available. I just fed my ducks meals a few times a day, as much as they could eat. I stood near to shoo away the rats, as they were numerous and accustomed to me and the ducks. It took just a few days for most of them to leave and a week for the last determined few. After about 2 weeks of meals we started leaving food out all day again, but we do pick it up at night.

We also stopped composting food during that time. We haven't had any problems since then.

Alright. Sounds good, I’ll try that!

 

[ruthhope]

I had a problem with rats that predated the ducks. I stopped feeding the birds when I saw a rat shimmying up the pole that held the bird feeders some years ago

Since having ducks in my back yard, I noticed a rat going into the coop each morning after I had let the ducks out. So I changed my practice and instead of leaving the coop open for the ducks to go in during the day, I closed it up and fed them on my patio. I also nailed quarter inch hardware cloth round the bottom of the coop so that rats cannot get into the coop when the door is closed. My muscovy killed one rat that got into the coop at night before I nailed on the quarter inch hardware cloth.

Next I had two rats coming up onto the patio to help themselves from the duck food bowl. So I changed how I feed my ducks and am now giving the ducks ducky soup during the day -- it doesn't apeal to the rats -- and duck pellets in the coop at night then closing the coop door. Since then I have not had rats coming onto my patio -- I actually haven't seen any rats -- and none have been killed in the coop.

I think the rats have moved on to easier pickings somewhere else [a neighbor with a birdfeeder probably.]

 

[Quatie]

The red pepper flakes will do nothing. My mother-in-law has pet rats and tried use capsaicin to stop them chewing on things. Instead the rats licked it all off and couldn't get enough of it. So the pepper will not stop them, and could possibly encourage them.

 

[Daisy and Daffy]

The red pepper flakes will do nothing. My mother-in-law has pet rats and tried use capsaicin to stop them chewing on things. Instead the rats licked it all off and couldn't get enough of it. So the pepper will not stop them, and could possibly encourage them.

Damn. That's a shame, I've actually caught all the rats with rat traps placed where the ducks can't go. Haven't seen any since!

 

[Snoop_dukk]

I had a problem with rats that predated the ducks. I stopped feeding the birds when I saw a rat shimmying up the pole that held the bird feeders some years ago

Since having ducks in my back yard, I noticed a rat going into the coop each morning after I had let the ducks out. So I changed my practice and instead of leaving the coop open for the ducks to go in during the day, I closed it up and fed them on my patio. I also nailed quarter inch hardware cloth round the bottom of the coop so that rats cannot get into the coop when the door is closed. My muscovy killed one rat that got into the coop at night before I nailed on the quarter inch hardware cloth.

Next I had two rats coming up onto the patio to help themselves from the duck food bowl. So I changed how I feed my ducks and am now giving the ducks ducky soup during the day -- it doesn't apeal to the rats -- and duck pellets in the coop at night then closing the coop door. Since then I have not had rats coming onto my patio -- I actually haven't seen any rats -- and none have been killed in the coop.

I think the rats have moved on to easier pickings somewhere else [a neighbor with a birdfeeder probably.]

Can you elaborate on the ducky soup? I’m also looking for ways around the rats

 

[ruthhope]

Can you elaborate on the ducky soup? I’m also looking for ways around the rats

First let me say the rats moved nextdoor and were nesting in their attic. When my neighbor realised and evicted them the rats were back here. I ended up using snap rat traps, with peanut butter as bait. I set them up inside a dogcrate on my patio. Dogcrate so that squirrels, and other animals, as well as my ducks would not get injured. I killed 4 in one night and a couple of others within a few days. I have been away from home with my ducks forc6 months and so I am unsure what is going on now with the rats, but they are not being fed by my ducks.

@Miss Lydia got me on to making ducky soup, it was not my idea. I make ducky soup from left over pellets from the previous day. They are usually damp from duck bills drinking water then going back to the food. I do add a small quantity of mealworms and once in a while a few peas. I use enough water for the top to be runny not thick, although the sediment is more like a paste. My ducks don't like damp pellets nor porridge. But they love ducky soup. I like being able to use up old food that had been going into the compost. The ducks vary. Some days they mainly eat ducky soup and ignore the bowl of pellets. They pull up the sediment while eating but some days I have to add more water during the day if there is only paste in the bowl. Other days they ignore the ducky soup and eat the pellets. They also forage and I quite often see them foraging in the compost pile where I dumped their previous day ducky soup!

I have two ducks with damaged bills and both like to take their peas and their pellets in ducky soup, although both can eat dry pellets in a deep bowl. My ducks don't like ducky soup that has started to ferment on hot days, which surprises me. Although I have seen them skimming mealworms off the top.

 

[Miss Lydia]

In warm months I let the snakes take care of rats and mice. but when the snakes go into hibernation I use cornmeal and baking soda and put it in the rat traps so that other animals can't get into them, cornmeal attracts the vermin and the baking soda does them. in.

 

[Roosterinthecity]

Baking soda.
Bait with baking soda where you see the mice/rats.
Sprinkling a bit of baking soda on the duck food is good too. It’s not harmful to the ducks and can actually be good in small amounts over time.
The baking soda makes the mice/rats go belly up, and if the ducks end up eating the dead mice/rats it’s not harmful like poisons are.