Hey guys! I have 13 chickens out in the country that live in a large coop with 5 gallon bucket feeder and waterers. I don't go down to the coop daily (automatic door) and collect eggs every couple days. No problem for the last 3 years.
It has been raining non-stop for the last 3 months and the rats have come to live in my horse barn and chicken coop! The amount of rat poop in my nesting boxes makes me want to throw up and stop eating eggs! So super gross.
I have read a lot of past posts, and get that feed and water sources have to be picked up or removed, and poison is probably what we need to get things under control.
My problem is that my coop works for me because it is low maintenance - I work 12 hour shifts and do chores on my days off. I want to keep the 5 gallon feeders and waterers. I was thinking of doing some rope and pulley to the ceiling so I could raise and lower them each day for a few weeks while the rats get the poison bait instead. I am accepting that I need to make an effort for 2x/day coop trip for a while, but I want to make it as fast and easy as I can.
Any idea on how high I would need to raise them? Any DIY squirrel baffles so the rats can't climb down the rope? My nesting boxes are elevated about 24 inches off the coop floor, and I am not sure how the rats are climbing in there - I guess up the vertical wood walls? Can I cover the walls with something to make it too slick to climb? Does peppermint oil repel them? Is bleach ok to disinfect my boxes?
Thanks for any suggestions as I prepare to go to war! Hopefully Spring comes soon and the Kingsnakes wake back up to help!
Lisa
It has been raining non-stop for the last 3 months and the rats have come to live in my horse barn and chicken coop! The amount of rat poop in my nesting boxes makes me want to throw up and stop eating eggs! So super gross.
I have read a lot of past posts, and get that feed and water sources have to be picked up or removed, and poison is probably what we need to get things under control.
My problem is that my coop works for me because it is low maintenance - I work 12 hour shifts and do chores on my days off. I want to keep the 5 gallon feeders and waterers. I was thinking of doing some rope and pulley to the ceiling so I could raise and lower them each day for a few weeks while the rats get the poison bait instead. I am accepting that I need to make an effort for 2x/day coop trip for a while, but I want to make it as fast and easy as I can.
Any idea on how high I would need to raise them? Any DIY squirrel baffles so the rats can't climb down the rope? My nesting boxes are elevated about 24 inches off the coop floor, and I am not sure how the rats are climbing in there - I guess up the vertical wood walls? Can I cover the walls with something to make it too slick to climb? Does peppermint oil repel them? Is bleach ok to disinfect my boxes?
Thanks for any suggestions as I prepare to go to war! Hopefully Spring comes soon and the Kingsnakes wake back up to help!
Lisa