Rats are taking over!

[Ktewes]

How does everyone who free ranges their chickens deal with the rats?! I have since raised this feeder up but the song birds, squirrels, and rats all have figured out how to use it. My chickens normally eat from here in the morning and then free range until the evening and eat some before bed. I don’t really see them come back to the feeder during the day. I also make a mash with their food and offer that a few times during the day. Food and water go away at night. I have also tried RatX, snap traps, electric traps, bucket traps, live traps, and the ratinator. These rats do not fall for any of it. I literally don’t know what to do anymore. I am literally feeding wildlife and not my actual chickens with this feeder at this point. Because they free range I don’t have a way to secure it from wildlife and not the chickens. I’ve seen treadle feeders but I can only assume rats would also figure that out. I’m just at a loss. Any ideas? Do I take it away fully?

 

[The Moonshiner]

@Al Gerhart will have the answer.

 

[BlindLemonChicken]

Can you put the food up during the day? If they’re not eating it it doesn’t need to be there.

 

[MichaelDJ]

I get rats at my bird feeders. I have a .22 break barrel that dispatches them quite quickly. Got one today as a matter of fact.

 

[BlindLemonChicken]

I get rats at my bird feeders. I have a .22 break barrel that dispatches them quite quickly. Got one today as a matter of fact.

That is a great idea where it’s legal. I couldn’t discharge a firearm in suburbia. My neighbor would live trap them and his wife would be ready with a shovel when he opened the trap

 

[The Moonshiner]

his wife would be ready with a shovel when he opened the trap

And she could actually hit the thing when it ran out? If so I'm impressed. Sounds too risky for me. I'd drop trap and all into a 55 gallon barrel of water.

 

[kattabelly]

That is a great idea where it’s legal. I couldn’t discharge a firearm in suburbia. My neighbor would live trap them and his wife would be ready with a shovel when he opened the trap

A catapult (I think you call them slingshots in the US?) can also work well if the rats are bold enough to let you get fairly close.

 

[BlindLemonChicken]

And she could actually hit the thing when it ran out? If so I'm impressed. Sounds too risky for me. I'd drop trap and all into a 55 gallon barrel of water.

Yeah she did! Apparently she learned it in Hawaii and became very skilled at it.

We never managed to find a way to kill them that could keep up with their reproductive rate. We had to remove their nest, disturb their greasy little trails and put the feed in every night.

 

[BlindLemonChicken]

We had gardens on almost every side of our shared backyard fence so we had rats before we had chickens lol but we could have planned better knowing that.

 

[JPadronMiami]

How does everyone who free ranges their chickens deal with the rats?! I have since raised this feeder up but the song birds, squirrels, and rats all have figured out how to use it. My chickens normally eat from here in the morning and then free range until the evening and eat some before bed. I don’t really see them come back to the feeder during the day. I also make a mash with their food and offer that a few times during the day. Food and water go away at night. I have also tried RatX, snap traps, electric traps, bucket traps, live traps, and the ratinator. These rats do not fall for any of it. I literally don’t know what to do anymore. I am literally feeding wildlife and not my actual chickens with this feeder at this point. Because they free range I don’t have a way to secure it from wildlife and not the chickens. I’ve seen treadle feeders but I can only assume rats would also figure that out. I’m just at a loss. Any ideas? Do I take it away fully?

good morning, have you tried cutting down the ration to only adding what they would eat within maybe 10 minutes instead of filling up the feeder, not leaving the feeder full for the day? im guessing your chickens all get to the feeder at the same time? are you present during that short period to gauge the amount of feed you leave and how quickly they consume it? you add more or leave less depending on their consumption. I semi free range, this tactic help me considerably in reducing the rat's from being present, no feed no rats, I realize your situation is very different, my chickens return to their runs every night, they eat their ration within 10 minutes, they roost, nothing left for the rats.....just thought I'd offer my experience on the subject...can never get rid of them completely because they are part of the environment in general but i found with this method to be able to reduce the numbers within the area of my runs and feed bins....good luck! as a side note, mint, particularly peppermint plants deters them they don't like the strong scent, however horses like them, and maybe some of the other critters on your property might as well...Good Luck!