Rat half eaten in run

[Beezchickens]

I disagree that poison is the only solution.

Traps work. To catch rats, I use the Havahart squirrel-rat size traps, baited with peanut butter. The good news is you can put the trap right in the run, becauseView attachment 2156890 your birds don't fit into it, unlike raccoon traps, as one of my curious ducks found out! (I'm sure that fishy cat food smelled good to the duck. She ate all of it! But that trap snapping down on her must have traumatized her, because she won't even go near the trap, now. Or maybe it was the pigeons and other ducks making fun of her....!)

It's worthwhile to have a trap or two. Rats can hitch a ride onto your property via feed or straw bales, or just wander in...they are everywhere. To make sure they don't stay with me, I take the caught rats, drown them trap and all, and throw them away in the trash. Then I reload the trap and set it. After a few days with no catches, I feel pretty confident that I got all of them.

Hope this helps.

Thank you I will give this a try too!