Rats getting in run & eating feed

[Callender Girl]

You make a good point. My rat problem cleared up once I retrofitted the coops with more hardware cloth and metal corner pieces, along with becoming more careful about where and how I fed poultry.

I know it won't be a popular point of view, but I actually felt badly about killing the ones that I did -- I've had pet gerbils and guinea pigs, so rats aren't that far removed from animals that I have cared about and welcomed into my house. I also understand being driven to distraction, worrying about the rats spreading disease and chaos in the coops, eating the feed and destroying the infrastructure.

It's too bad life isn't full of easy answers.

 

[rosemarythyme]

I know it won't be a popular point of view, but I actually felt badly about killing the ones that I did -- I've had pet gerbils and guinea pigs, so rats aren't that far removed from animals that I have cared about and welcomed into my house. I also understand being driven to distraction, worrying about the rats spreading disease and chaos in the coops, eating the feed and destroying the infrastructure.

I had pet rats. It actually makes me want to eliminate the ones outside even more, because wild rodents can spread disease to domesticated ones, so if I ever get more, I want to keep their habitat as clean as I possibly can.

That said, any wild rodents that live away from the coop/run and the side of the house, I leave alone. Even the annoying rabbits that breed like... well, rabbits. If they don't bother me I don't bother them.

 

[benevolent_leonela]

My coop/run is overly hardware clothed. Feed is all stored in metal. I've begun putting the feeder away at night.

Tried to set 2 rat traps that ended up breaking when I went to set them.... trapping will have to wait until the next run to town.

I suppose one thing I could do to lessen the problem is when I let the girls out to forage in the afternoon, I'll throw out some scratch for them outside the door. Perhaps now I'll do it aways out from the coop to lessen the attraction near the structure. I know some bits of scratch don't always get eaten up! This is a realization I just had.

 

[Howard E]

As far as the exclusion part, here is a good rule of thumb. Is the housing area where feed is served a 3 dimensional cube......with no openings larger than 1/2", and all materials made of metal? Rats can chew through almost anything not metal. So will make an opening if none is available. They can't chew through metal.

By 3D, that means, the top, bottom and all sides are enclosed with metal and tight. If so, you have done your part to keep them out, If not, they will find a way in. And as for the food......any food at all that they have access to they will find and consume.....and thrive. Normal feeders are not going to cut it. Scratch or feed on the ground will be found and consumed.

The best feeders are treadle feeders made of metal. The chickens can open them on demand, but they close tight when chickens are done. They also eliminate feed loss, so no waste on the ground to find. This eases the burden on you as you don't have to take up the feed or feeders at night.

So get those two right (sanitation and exclusion) and the rat problem should go away on it's own. If not, be prepared for an extended battle. You will be at this for a while.

 

[Al Gerhart]

Control the feed and you control the vermin. Do a forum search for Howard E.'s threads on rats, very well written and researched. He is spot on about cleaning up the feed, using a treadle feeder (do your research, trust only the third party reviews that DO NOT have an affiliate link that they make money off of), cleaning up the area to lessen places they can hide from predators, and the problem will go away.

 

[benevolent_leonela]

Guys, after many days and nights checking rat traps and trying different things I WATCHED my ladies absolutely go ham on the culprit today!! I couldn't believe what I was seeing.

I was moving some rounds of wood around in the run and out popped a rat. 5 of my hens ganged up immediately on the unfortunate fellow and he was as dead as a door nail in seconds. I didn't think chickens would take on a rat. They are pack rats, not the big norwegian ones so they are smaller in size.

I reckon I will wait to see if there is more. Maybe the hens will just do the job for me