Rat Problem

[cmom]

This is the best way to use poison as a last resort if you ABSOLUTELY need to! But, look at the article, and try EVERYTHING ELSE, before the use of poison! Our dog ate rat poison, and we had to take her over night to the vet, it is dangerous. Great contribution Cmom!

I did not find any dead rats laying around or any other dead critter. Did your dog eat the rat or the poison?

 

[cmom]

If you do check for mites, I use a headlamp so I have both of my hands free to inspect the birds. I do it after they roost. Some mites only come out at night and feed on the birds. This does not list rats but they can introduce mites and lice too.

 

[cmom]

Oh no! I better start killing the rats.

How did you get rid of the mites????

Also, what would happen if I poured water down a rats hole?

BTW - THANK YOU FOR ALL OF YOUR HELP!

I tried pretty much everything even putting a 3/4" hose in one of the tunnels. No rats came out anywhere. I tried the bucket and some traps. I did get some in the traps but had so many rats that I finally bought a couple of rat bait stations and put them in our barn where only the rats could get to them which is behind the coops. I had seen some rats in the barn too. Good luck...

 

[Weeg]

I did not find any dead rats laying around or any other dead critter. Did your dog eat the rat or the poison?

THE poison, so bait boxes the are best was to do it, but the poison in general is still dangerous, that is what I am getting at. Anyway, as longs you get rid of them humanly, and keep other wildlife in mind, whatever works!

 

[Ebony Rose]

I taught my chickens to hunt mice; depending on the size of your rats, this might be an option for you.

My chickens made the mice extinct in my back yard (teeheehee)

 

[Weeg]

I taught my chickens to hunt mice; depending on the size of your rats, this might be an option for you.

My chickens made the mice extinct in my back yard (teeheehee)

That is awesome! How! My chickens find and eat dead mice and birds my cats kill, but never hunt rodents. This is so cool!

 

[chicken3fly]

Also, if the rats drink the chickens water/roam all around in the run could that hurt the chickens? ( Make them sick? ) And do rats attack chickens???

Rats usually only attack chicks

 

[Ebony Rose]

I would put mousetraps where mice could get them, other animals and my birds could not. I used the old fashioned, snap traps. Each morning, while the kill was still fresh, I'd toss the whole rodent to my flock and allow them to play keep away and eventually eat the rodent. I guess they got tired of only getting one or two mice in the mornings and started hunting them for themselves. Truly a sight to behold and thoroughly entertaining to watch.

 

[Meg-in-MT]

Someone correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe chicken lice and mites are species specific and wouldn't transfer from rats to chickens.

 

[Allsfairinloveandbugs]

@Meg-in-MT i thought u made a very good point so decided to research issue. From what i could see, chicken lice and mites are GENUS/avian specific; live happily on bird species but not long on mammals. Unfortunately that means the lice and mites from rodents CAN & do feed off humans and other mammals. Another reason to keep rats away from human dwellings.