Rats in the chicken coop

[speedy2020]

I used Raticator Plus-Rodent Zapper trap , live trap, Victor rat trap, Kness Snap-E mouse, Kness Snap-E rat trap, and DIY tin can bucket trap. The best one would be Kness Snap-E rat trap. The rats getting smart, but the trick is trap 3-4 days and remove the trap for 1-2 weeks, then repeat the cycle. There are fake Kness Snap-E rat trap that made in China.


Raticator Zapper:
Pro: quick kill, no mess
Con: The power deplete quick so require change batteries often, it seem to be faulty (the light blink, but nothing inside), expensive


Live trap:
Pro: Live catch
Con: Need to take some where to release, the rat take the bait and nothing inside.

Victor rat trap:
Pro: Quick kill, price reasonable
Con: Blood on the trap because of the strong snap, there are lot of snap & no bait left and no rat, it seem to rust easy (made of steel no paint coating).

Kness Snap-E rat trap:
Pro: Very effective getting the rat, no to little blood on the trap, price reasonable, will last much longer (steel with paint or other coating on the metal - I only have the traps for 6 months and still looking good), made in USA
Con: It made of plastic so not sure how long the it will last. There also fake 1 that made in China.

DIY bucket trap, rolling can in the middle
Pro: Cheap, just use what available
Con: The cloth hanger rust quick, little messy to deal with dead rat in the water.

 

[RonP]

Posted to another query:

My understanding is that rats/mice are everywhere.
They will congregate and breed where there is available food, water, and shelter.
Look closely around any fast food restaurant and you will see rat bait stations.

They will eventually come, the idea is to prevent them from establishing a colony.
If you see 1, there are probably fifty.
If you see two or more holes, expect dozens.

Keeping a rat trap/bait station baited 24/7 hopefully keeps the population from establishing near your food source. Once established, they are very difficult to eliminate.

Remember, chickens don't attract rats, food does.

That said, I fabricated black 4 inch circular x 18" long drainage plastic pipe as a bait station.
Placed along the outside of my coop, looks like drainage pipe (not unsightly).
I put a t fitting in the center, capped, for easy viewing once a week.
Inside I maintain commercial rat poison.

My run has food scraps 24/7.
My coop has food access 24/7.
Water access 24/7.

5 years, no sign of rats or mice...

Hope this helps.

 

[seminolewind]

I emptied and disinfected my whole coop yesterday. It's been empty for the summer and the birds have been sleeping in pen. I have bait stations out, one in the coop. Even with no available food and a bait station, I disturbed a mouse and a rat.

So I guess what I'm saying is that maybe my bait is too old and lost it's umph?

 

[BarneyChick97]

I got rid of the one rat, and who knows, its other friends too. That was spring. I noticed rat poo out in my chicken coop again. I have been putting garden goodies out in my coop each day (from hanging bird feeder baskets), and there's so much they haven't been finishing it all. It goes into the next day, and then in the morning, it's covered in slugs and gross to me, so I toss it into the compost pile not too far behind it. There's usually only grass and poo/bedding mix from the coops. My bad!!! I guess it doesn't matter, even if its organic! DON'T leave food outside! Yes, rats can jump! I watched the rat climb up my coop wall, and try to leap away. The first rat was jumping from the top of the hen house to the hanging feeder that we used to leave out. It is always hanging from a chain, at least a foot off the ground. We used to just leave the food out, and clip it up about 6ft from the ground. That was still a bad idea. So, no more treats from the garden are being left out there too. Rat bait stations will stay.

 

[seminolewind]

Rats are gross. Yes they can run vertical up a wall, and jump, and squeeze thru a half inch opening like a space under a door. Barney, you're right about the rat poo. That's what I check for.

 

[silkiecuddles]

There is a creature that lives under my chicken coop. It has a series of tunnels underneath, and it's built up some dirt under the ramp, which I'm assuming is where it has its burrow? The dogs try madly to get to it, but they can't. I do keep feed in the coop, but it's kinda hard to avoid that, as the chickens in that coop stay inside it. (otherwise the dog kills them) What's the best no-poison way to get rid of the rats/mice/whatever-it-is? Also, I had a chick from that coop disappear a couple of weeks ago. It stayed under the mama hen, usually. Would the rat of eaten it?

 

[BarneyChick97]

I've searched here, and people have said YES, rats can/would eat chicks. I don't know if there is away to kill them thats not a snap trap or poison to get rid of them? You might not want to take the food out permanently, but maybe consider taking it out for a few days until you know the critter is gone? I don't leave food outside anymore for that reason, but that is just my preference. I use the tomcat bait boxes. I've had success with rats and also mice with them.

 

[silkiecuddles]

Ok, thanks for the info. I moved the hen and chicks after the one disappeared. I'm not sure removing the food would get rid of them entirely, tho, because there are several holes and what looks to be a burrow IN the coop. Would the creatures (rats?) kill my silkies and cochin in the coop?

 

[Folly's place]

That's one reason I dislike raised coops. If your coop is predator proof, then eliminating the critters living under it will be easier. I've never caught a rat in a live trap; they are too smart. You might have rats, ground squirrels, or weasels there. Can you see tracks? Probably poison will be necessary, making sure that only the target critters are harmed. Can you fence the site to keep others out? It's hard to fix anything in winter though. How about bait in a box with small openings? I'd want to rebuild in spring so nothing can live under the coop. Mary

 

[speedy2020]

That's one reason I dislike raised coops. If your coop is predator proof, then eliminating the critters living under it will be easier. I've never caught a rat in a live trap; they are too smart. You might have rats, ground squirrels, or weasels there. Can you see tracks? Probably poison will be necessary, making sure that only the target critters are harmed. Can you fence the site to keep others out? It's hard to fix anything in winter though. How about bait in a box with small openings? I'd want to rebuild in spring so nothing can live under the coop. Mary

I have box coop raised 20" off ground. Rat will not live/hide under if tall enough. I used that space to raise chicks. It worked very well.