Rat?

[micstrachan]

Something is burrowing into the run. I had seen a couple small (quarter coin sized) holes and wondered if we had voles. But the other day I uncovered a hole with a stump and shortly thereafter, Dorothy killed and consumed what I think was a trapdoor spider (like a tarantula, but lessy hairy.) So I thought “who knew?!) Well, I’m planning to clean out all the litter around the little red grow out coop that lives inside the main run and found something bigger is burrowing into the run in thr corner where the mini coop is sitting on keystones a d bricks.

I have a hardware cloth skirt all the way around the run and this thing seems to be coming from somewhere deeper. We do have gophers, and probably moles. Can rats use their tunnels? Do rats dig their own? I don’t see any evidence of burrowing from the outside. Here is a video of where the (buried) skirt meets the run and s couple pics of the hole. Any guesses?

Edited to add: the hole is inside the run, and the video was outside the run.

 

[Al Gerhart]

A rat burrow is going to be quite wide, usually about two inches in diameter so the rats can pass each other. The size of a hole needed for a mouse to get it is about the size of a nickel, about 3/4" of an inch, for a rat, around 1". Once they get their heads in the rest will follow.

 

[aart]

What is on the outside in relation to the inside hole/tunnel?

Have you stuck a stick into the inside hole/tunnel....or the garden hose turned on full blast?

 

[salimben60]

I thought I had a predator proof run but I kept noticing that the food disappears everynight even though I restock. So I put solar lights and monitored. Right after sunset 4 rats stopped by and one made it into the run. She went in between the space between the bottom of the door and the wood( can't even see it). That is when I gave up

 

[Sixandahalfacres]

Might be time to set out some rat traps We don’t have rats here in Alberta (Canada, just our province is mostly rat free) so I’m not even sure how to deal with them. Would they go after your chickens, or just the food?

 

[Mtnboomer]

Whats the diameter of the hole? In my neck of the woods, id say it was a groundhog. No threat, other than destruction, but creates an access root for other varmints

 

[salimben60]

Might be time to set out some rat traps We don’t have rats here in Alberta (Canada, just our province is mostly rat free) so I’m not even sure how to deal with them. Would they go after your chickens, or just the food?

I was researching after this and most people said that chickens eat the rats. Not confirmed but I am just worried because rats come at night when chickens are asleep
For me they only eat the food

 

[Al Gerhart]

Mostly the feed, unless you have chicks. They will eat eggs on occasion and bring in tons of pests and disease.

Dealing with rats or mice is simple. Get your bulk feed in metal cans. Get a good treadle feeder with a spring loaded door and a counterweight. Clean up as much cover as you can around the coop as the rats and mice tend to live within a few dozen feet of their food supply.

 

[Mtnboomer]

I was researching after this and most people said that chickens eat the rats. Not confirmed but I am just worried because rats come at night when chickens are asleep
For me they only eat the food

We don't have rats, thankfully, but i have seen my chickens chase mice across the yard, kill, and eat them. I have never had a rodent problem in the coop.

 

[Anime2lover]

Might be time to set out some rat traps We don’t have rats here in Alberta (Canada, just our province is mostly rat free) so I’m not even sure how to deal with them. Would they go after your chickens, or just the food?

There is a risk they will go after eggs and chickens if their hungry enough. Their known to chew on sleeping babies after all. You definitely need rat traps for sure.