Rats, Hawks and Raccoons, Oh My! Please Help!

[chickengirl1278]

Hi everyone,
I was hoping I could get some advice on how to get rid of the local predators in my backyard. We have chickens and ducks. Our duck pen is basically a small, outdoor dog pen with a heavy-duty tarp for the roof, and a doghouse for the ducks to sleep in (we have wood shavings for bedding). We have had a problem with rats invading the duck pen for a while now, since they dig tunnels underneath the doghouse, steal the food, and even take eggs occasionally. We also have a creek in our backyard with a bridge going over top of it, with the rats making tunnels underneath the bridge edges as well. Multiple times we have set up poison and rat traps, but somehow the rats always manage to get to the peanut butter without setting off the trap, or they set off the trap but don't get killed, and manage to wiggle themselves out and escape. With the poison, the rats poop in the duck pen and we're afraid it might affect the ducks. We also breed our ducks in the spring and summer and sell the babies. At first, we had a kiddy-pool with hardware cloth along the sides inside our outbuilding, which we would keep the babies in until they were old enough to be moved outside (if they hadn't sold by then). One night, rats came and attacked the baby ducks, killing all of them but three, one of which was bitten and left with her legs paralyzed. We actually set a sticky trap the next night, came back the next morning and found the paw-print of a rat that was just a bit smaller than a dime. Ever since then, though, we got a huge metal bin with hardware cloth covering the top, and that is what we keep the babies in now. We have a drake, and the ducks are a skittish breed (Indian Runner), so we have never had a problem with hawks attacking ducks. However, it's not the same for the chickens. The chickens have no fear of the hawks, and though they have plenty of spots to hide everywhere in the yard, they seek no shelter when a hawk comes. At this point, we have lost 4 chickens to hawks in October, and the past 4 months we have been forced to leave the chickens in their run all day, which I know is not very good for them. Every single day, at least 3 hawks come to see if any of the chickens are outside. Even when I come outside, the hawks don't leave. The rats also affect the chickens, as they come during the night and steal food just like they do to the ducks. Although we don't have much of a problem with raccoons, a few years ago a raccoon came during the night and decapitated one of our ducks. I hate it that the ducks can be outside and free range while the chickens can't, but we've tried everything we can think of and nothing works. Does anyone have any advice on how to get rid of all of these predators?

 

[azygous]

The hawks are likely aware of the rodents in addition to the chickens. It's a food chain thing. Keep the chickens under cover for a couple of months, and the hawks won't be shopping for them.

The rat problem is probably easiest to resolve. First, you need to keep food in metal containers with lids, and take up any food not eaten at the end of the day, depriving the rats of easy food. Feeding in a way that limits spilling onto the ground helps, too. I suggest fermented feed since there is zero spillage, and your birds will all benefit from the extra nutrients.

Have you heard of bucket roller traps? Like you, I tried every trap they sell. The rodents became wise to every single one and avoided them. Then I made a roller trap and it's been working every since, and the rodents have not gotten in the least bit wise to it. The way it works is a five gallon bucket with a couple inches of water in the bottom drowns rodents as they slip off the "log" roller installed at the top and baited with peanut butter. I made my own roller with some copper tubing and a dowel slipped inside and supported by little plastic sleeves to keep it rolling evenly. For the second bucket trap I bought the roller for $10 off Amazon. You can catch a dozen rats and mice a night in one bucket. It's easy to keep the roller baited with fresh peanut butter each night. To empty the drowned rats each morning, you just pour them out. No poison to worry about and no traps to set just to find sprung and empty the next morning.

The raccoons are clever and need a heavy duty solution. Anything less than electric hot wire they will figure out how to defeat. All the supplies you need are sold at any farm store, and the investment need not be more than $200, usually much less. The charger is the most expensive item, and plug-in chargers aren't that much, though they need sheltering from the weather. I have a solar charger, and those are pricey, but you need no electric outlet and can put them anywhere.

You have a substantial problem and it will require some though and effort, but it should pay off with improved peace of mind after you solve each problem one by one.

Once those hawks quit seeing rats and chickens wandering around, they probably will become scarce as well.

 

[Al Gerhart]

control the feed, control the rats. Find a good treadle feeder, read the reviews and read the reviews from third party sites as well but shy away from any that admit they are using affiliate listings or links because their advice goes to the highest bidder.

The other post is spot on, the rodents are attracting the birds of prey, concentrating plenty of rats instead of them being spread out and harder to find and catch.

The larger preadors, well a treadle feeder only works if there is a big difference between the reach and weight of a chicken and the critter that is trying to steal the feed. Put your feeder inside the coop.

The rat roller bucket traps work great on mice, not so great on rats, and both eventually learn not to mess with the bucket trap.

I would clean up the area around the coop so the rats have to travel in the open, more likely to get caught by a predator.

Finally, do a forum search for Howard E.'s posts on rodents and rats. Some of the best researched advice out there in my opinion.

 

[WindingRoad]

control the feed, control the rats. Find a good treadle feeder, read the reviews and read the reviews from third party sites as well but shy away from any that admit they are using affiliate listings or links because their advice goes to the highest bidder.

The other post is spot on, the rodents are attracting the birds of prey, concentrating plenty of rats instead of them being spread out and harder to find and catch.

The larger preadors, well a treadle feeder only works if there is a big difference between the reach and weight of a chicken and the critter that is trying to steal the feed. Put your feeder inside the coop.

The rat roller bucket traps work great on mice, not so great on rats, and both eventually learn not to mess with the bucket trap.

I would clean up the area around the coop so the rats have to travel in the open, more likely to get caught by a predator.

Finally, do a forum search for Howard E.'s posts on rodents and rats. Some of the best researched advice out there in my opinion.

Treadle feeders don't work. The rats come out in the day time. So any feed spilled is eaten. And some rats stand on their hind legs and feed right along with the birds. LOL.

The only way to get rid of rats is to KILL them all. Good luck.

ETA: I leave my coop open in good weather so my birds can get to the nest boxes. Next "good" idea.....

 

[Al Gerhart]

Properly designed treadle feeders do work if they are installed properly. No feed should be spilled unless there is a hen that has learned to rake for treats and even then the feeder lip extension will solve that.

It is a rare case where someone has been so careless and unsanitary that they have so many rats that the rats are brave enough to feed with the chickens and even then a well designed treadle feeder will stop them. We have several hundred reviews on our shopping cart that tell how effective they are and quite a few on our Facebook page.

 

[cmom]

I have electric wires around my coops and pens which keep predators away. I do use rat poison in bait stations that I put in a pet carrier on a shelf in our barn which is behind the coops which only the rats can get to and they are good climbers. One of my coops was infested with rats. When I started renovating it taking out the walls and ceiling dozens of rats of all sizes poured out and I found several nests. I had see a couple of rats in the barn probably from the coop. They didn't like the bait that came with the rat bait stations so I bought a different bait that the feed store used and sold. The rats loved it. There were also tunnels around the coops. I didn't find any dead rats so I assume they went into their tunnels and died. The bait boxes have a little window above the baits so I can check it daily. I haven't had any issues in quite awhile and the baits hardly touched. There is a partition down the middle inside the bait stations that the rats have to go around to get to the bait which helps to eliminate the bait from getting out of the bait station and putting it in the pet carried also keeps other critters away from the bait.

 

[WindingRoad]

Treadle feeders don't work. The rats come out in the day time. So any feed spilled is eaten. And some rats stand on their hind legs and feed right along with the birds. LOL.

The only way to get rid of rats is to KILL them all. Good luck.

Properly designed treadle feeders do work if they are installed properly. No feed should be spilled unless there is a hen that has learned to rake for treats and even then the feeder lip extension will solve that.

It is a rare case where someone has been so careless and unsanitary that they have so many rats that the rats are brave enough to feed with the chickens and even then a well designed treadle feeder will stop them. We have several hundred reviews on our shopping cart that tell how effective they are and quite a few on our Facebook page.

As I've said before Talk is cheap. Can't tell if a treadle feeder works if I can't get it now can I? And + reviews are a dime a dozen.

When the chickens bill the food out all day should I be out there sweeping it up every time they eat. I am talking about feeding outside. The feeder lip does NOT stop hens from piling up food by billing it to the side. Eventually the pile gets high enough to spill over any old lip.

#1 some one who has a product should have a secure website.

#2 They should respect their customers by NOT posting their name on a public forum.

 

[Al Gerhart]

No, not selling you a feeder. Not under any circumstances.

And as you admit that you don't have one you sure know a lot about what it can do and won't do which is exactly why you should purchase another kind of feeder. Can't fill an cup that is full. When you realize that someone won't follow the directions it is best to pass on that sale. And look, you are trashing the product and even the website, which by the way uses Paypal as the payment processor so it is completely secure, all this before you even have seen the product.

And no, the feeder is designed not to allow that much feed to be pulled down, the angle of the bottom is just right, the depth from the bottom of the feeder to the top of the stock feed lip is just right, high enough that a rat would have to be a foot long to stand on the ground and eat at the feeder. If a coop is so full of holes a house cat size rat can get in they need to spend their money on fixing holes not feeders.

BTW, I like many people use my real name on forums. Nothing to hide. I do apologize if that wasn't your situation. : )

 

[WindingRoad]

No, not selling you a feeder. Not under any circumstances.

And as you admit that you don't have one you sure know a lot about what it can do and won't do which is exactly why you should purchase another kind of feeder. Can't fill an cup that is full. When you realize that someone won't follow the directions it is best to pass on that sale. And look, you are trashing the product and even the website, which by the way uses Paypal as the payment processor so it is completely secure, all this before you even have seen the product.

And no, the feeder is designed not to allow that much feed to be pulled down, the angle of the bottom is just right, the depth from the bottom of the feeder to the top of the stock feed lip is just right, high enough that a rat would have to be a foot long to stand on the ground and eat at the feeder. If a coop is so full of holes a house cat size rat can get in they need to spend their money on fixing holes not feeders.

BTW, I like many people use my real name on forums. Nothing to hide. I do apologize if that wasn't your situation. : )

You won't sell to me because you know I'll be honest about the feeder. It can't be rat proof or any kind of proof if the birds can spill food out of it. Period. I don't know what it can do but I'm sure know you don't want me to know. I'm not sure how you came to the conclusion that I won't follow the directions. Why would I spent nearly $200 and not use it properly? And you are also preaching to the choir as I do "know" you use Pay Pal. I also know your website is not secure because whenever I bring it up Safari shows that it isn't secure. And your proved it by using my given name on a public forum. How many people did you sell my e-mail to? As I've said before talk is cheap, how about putting your money where your mouth is. You can talk the talk but walking the walk is better.

What does using my name on this forum have to do with your treadle feeder. Why couldn't you get someone in the USA to make your feeders? If they are so great.

Again you have proved NOTHING to me. And that's the important person here.

 

[WindingRoad]

No, not selling you a feeder. Not under any circumstances.

And as you admit that you don't have one you sure know a lot about what it can do and won't do which is exactly why you should purchase another kind of feeder. Can't fill an cup that is full. When you realize that someone won't follow the directions it is best to pass on that sale. And look, you are trashing the product and even the website, which by the way uses Paypal as the payment processor so it is completely secure, all this before you even have seen the product.

And no, the feeder is designed not to allow that much feed to be pulled down, the angle of the bottom is just right, the depth from the bottom of the feeder to the top of the stock feed lip is just right, high enough that a rat would have to be a foot long to stand on the ground and eat at the feeder. If a coop is so full of holes a house cat size rat can get in they need to spend their money on fixing holes not feeders.

BTW, I like many people use my real name on forums. Nothing to hide. I do apologize if that wasn't your situation. : )

No you can't fill a cup that is full but you sure can overfill it.