Rat half eaten in run

[Al Gerhart]

That is one of those Chinese made Pest off feeders, not a Rat Proof Feeder. Rats can use them by jumping up once the feeder has the metal port clogging. Or they just chew through the plastic. But the most common problem is birds raking feed out on the ground which is likely why you have rats.

I'd put a game camera or watch the amount of feed per bird. Should be around 1/4 pound per adult bird per day. Something is keeping the rats around and it is always food.

 

[Chickassan]

I can't believe half was left.
It is the half that never gets given on top of that.

 

[333113]

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, because

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.

If you see one rat, or are seeing them under your coop, you need to take action!
Having a wild rat colony is not healthy, and the rats need to be gone ASAP.
This is a problem with raised coops, but whatever your coop design is, rodent proof it before your birds get to eat any more. Invest in hardware cloth and concrete, whatever you can manage to make this situation better.
Having feed available to them is not good, so fix that if possible.
Only poison bait stations will work for this!
Mary

 

[Folly's place]

I tried that trap, and watched a rat beat it, and never actually caught even one there! And, my chicks and bantams could get into it easily, not good.
One year we had them in the barn, and our barn cat decided that rats weren't his problem. two young rats died in a water bucket, none got into any trap, and when they met me at the door in daytime, the poison came out! Pets and chickens in lockdown, bait traps out, and no more rats! Most of them go to their burrows and die there. That time we never found a rat carcass.
Twice I have found dead rodents, twice.
Mary

 

[333113]

I tried that trap, and watched a rat beat it, and never actually caught even one there! And, my chicks and bantams could get into it easily, not good.
One year we had them in the barn, and our barn cat decided that rats weren't his problem. two young rats died in a water bucket, none got into any trap, and when they met me at the door in daytime, the poison came out! Pets and chickens in lockdown, bait traps out, and no more rats! Most of them go to their burrows and die there. That time we never found a rat carcass.
Twice I have found dead rodents, twice.
Mary

I think you must have misunderstood me. Or you may have been using the wrong size trap.

Don't use the trap my duck got caught in while free-ranging, because those are big enough for several chickens, and the weight of a rat will not spring the trap.

Instead, use the smaller size for smaller animals. It measures 17 inches long by 5-1/2 inches tall by 5-1/2 inches wide. Even my bantams don't go in there, though I wouldn't trust it with young chicks. (If I saw evidence of a rat in a cage with small chickens, I would re-home those chickies pronto!)

 

[Folly's place]

That's the trap I had, and still have out in the barn somewhere. Useless here!
Mary

 

[Lamontelle4]

If you see one rat, or are seeing them under your coop, you need to take action!
Having a wild rat colony is not healthy, and the rats need to be gone ASAP.
This is a problem with raised coops, but whatever your coop design is, rodent proof it before your birds get to eat any more. Invest in hardware cloth and concrete, whatever you can manage to make this situation better.
Having feed available to them is not good, so fix that if possible.
Only poison bait stations will work for this!
Mary

Lol. at my old house I spent so much time and money on concrete and hardware cloth trying to keep rodents out of my chicken coop and garden that I just gave up and moved out. I live in an area now where the city has exterminators that control the wild rodent population. nothing I did seemed to work and I would sometimes break down and cry because I was so frustrated.

 

[gointothebirdsfarm]

Looks like I need to get on a rat killing spree...however I'm going to try rat traps (like the snap ones) first...we have outside cats so I am scared to put poison out, but to me rats are the nastiest, dirtiest animals. We have problems because of our feed...

 

[Folly's place]

Make sure that your traps, or whatever, are only available to the rodents. Rat snap traps are going to cause real injuries to cats too!
@Howard E used to have some videos on his site from the US Army, I think, about eliminating rat infestations. Old videos, but instructive.
Mary

 

[gointothebirdsfarm]

Make sure that your traps, or whatever, are only available to the rodents. Rat snap traps are going to cause real injuries to cats too!
@Howard E used to have some videos on his site from the US Army, I think, about eliminating rat infestations. Old videos, but instructive.
Mary
[/QUOTE/]
That is SOOOO true. If they can break my fingers they can break a cat's paw or a curious chicken's leg as easily. That is why when I do use them in the coop I pen my chickens out for a day...they have plenty of other places to go