Rats in Run

[Villa delle Rosa Silkies]

Our Silkie rooster was crowing loudly half the morning, which is unusual for him, so my husband went to check, & saw two rats scuttling out of the run, & a pile of dirt from a hole they had obviously dug to get into the run. I know they would be after the food ..... could they transmit any diseases to our roo & his mate? Would they attempt to hurt my Silkies? My husband has put bait down in the garage again, where we had problem with rats several weeks ago, & some of the bait has been nibbled at ... hopefully by the rats he saw earlier this morning.

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

Rats can nibble on chickens, steal eggs, and fowl up the food and water. If you are seeing them than you have a lot of rats, so keep out the poison. Rats and mice are a maintenance need when keeping chickens.

 

[Abriana]

My birds killed a rat the other day, I took it away from them and threw it out, but they often kill and eat mice. I move them, which I plan to do this Saturday, fairly often so it's usually not much of an issue but it's been pretty bad lately. I'm thinking about setting up some traps in my hutch (where my very young pullets and cockerel are currently living) and some by the feeder that my adult chickens use (set up in the evening, and then pick them up in the morning). Using poison would make me nervous.

 

[Villa delle Rosa Silkies]

My birds killed a rat the other day, I took it away from them and threw it out, but they often kill and eat mice. I move them, which I plan to do this Saturday, fairly often so it's usually not much of an issue but it's been pretty bad lately. I'm thinking about setting up some traps in my hutch (where my very young pullets and cockerel are currently living) and some by the feeder that my adult chickens use (set up in the evening, and then pick them up in the morning). Using poison would make me nervous.

The poison is in the garage, which is not in the same area ...... but I suppose if the roo attacked a rat that had eaten the poison, then he might be poisoned too. I had not thought of that. My husband set up a trap next to the hole that had been dug, on the outside of the run, & has put some mesh around it, so hopefully the sparrows that come into that area, don't get caught in it. Putting a trap down after the Silkies have gone into their coop & are safely locked away for the night, & then picked up again in the morning before they are let out, sounds like an excellent idea. We are going to put their food away in a box overnight, as well. Thanks.

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

Traps never work here for rats, only poison. I have never had any secondary deaths. Most rats will die in their hole, but you should look around daily for carcasses. Rat traps are good at catching sparrows and starlings, so that's what we use ours for.

 

[Villa delle Rosa Silkies]

Rats can nibble on chickens, steal eggs, and fowl up the food and water. If you are seeing them than you have a lot of rats, so keep out the poison. Rats and mice are a maintenance need when keeping chickens.

When you say they can nibble on chickens, I presume you mean chicks? So far we haven't had any chicks in that run. I hatch & raise my Silkie chicks indoors & they don't go outside until around 4 weeks of age for the day, & only permanently at around 8 weeks, & not in that big run as of yet. My husband has checked around all the other runs, & hasn't seen any evidence of rat activity anywhere else ..... yet. He's laid poison in the garage again, but I'm worried that a poisoned rat might come into the run & perhaps die there, & then get pecked at by the Silkies ..... I will have to check around the run every morning before I let them out of their coop. He's also set a trap outside the run, where the rats had dug to get in. Another member has said she sets traps in the run after she puts her chickens into the coop at night, & then removes them before she lets the chickens out in the morning, so we are going to try that also, but obviously we will use peanut butter as bait in those traps. Thanks.

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

When you say they can nibble on chickens, I presume you mean chicks? So far we haven't had any chicks in that run. I hatch & raise my Silkie chicks indoors & they don't go outside until around 4 weeks of age for the day, & only permanently at around 8 weeks, & not in that big run as of yet. My husband has checked around all the other runs, & hasn't seen any evidence of rat activity anywhere else ..... yet. He's laid poison in the garage again, but I'm worried that a poisoned rat might come into the run & perhaps die there, & then get pecked at by the Silkies ..... I will have to check around the run every morning before I let them out of their coop. He's also set a trap outside the run, where the rats had dug to get in. Another member has said she sets traps in the run after she puts her chickens into the coop at night, & then removes them before she lets the chickens out in the morning, so we are going to try that also, but obviously we will use peanut butter as bait in those traps. Thanks.

I have read posts where rats have chewed on roosting birds at night, even gnawing off toes. You birds are helpless at night. They also can cause disturbances that can cause birds to fly off roosts and get injured, and cause disturbances in laying. They also can cause stress as they scurry about at night.

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

We put our poison in a black bait station out of reach. We use the blocks so poison cannot be hauled off. Others have had luck with traps but we never have. Rats are too smart here.

 

[ChickNanny13]

Careful with poison, IF the chickens get ahold of that rat or any other animal gets that poisoned rat, it will/can kill. Live traps don't work for me, snap traps worked but stopped after several month. So I put out some bait which has been disappearing ... I tie the bait to something so they can't carry it off.

 

[aart]

My birds killed a rat the other day

Really?!!?
I can see them catching and killing mouse...but rats are pretty darn big.