Rats inside my run!

[IamRainey]

I went out to shoo my 5wo chicks into the coop tonight because they don't follow the hens up there. They just hunker together down in the darkness.

So I'm out there in the run and I sense some movement. Up in the framing for the roof there are 3 small rats just waiting for their moment!

I got the chicks up in the coop. I put down the door and wedged it closed. In the morning I'll put their food and water up there with them until I get the rats out and the perimeter secured.

I don't know how they got in. And, worse, I don't know how I'm going to get them out!

Has anyone dealt with small predators inside their runs? How did you get rid of them? I don't want to put down poison that the hens or chicks could get to. And I don't really even have any other ideas.

Thanks in advance!

 

[IamRainey]

I guess my 5wo chicks would not be able to get into bait boxes so I'll go out and get a few of them too!

Thanks everyone for your helpful ideas!

I've got another 10' or so of the concrete pavers to lay down but it's 100˚ out there so I'm taking a break.

I used to think I was a chicken owner. I've come to realize I'm a chicken servant. But at least I get 2 eggs a day as wages...

 

[Ol Grey Mare]

Rats are drawn by spilled feed or accessible feeders...essentially, you've opened an all-night all you can eat buffet. To eliminate the draw, use a no waste feed system that prevents spillage or feed only what the birds will est each day or remove the feed each night.
Next, close any opening larger than 1 inch using solid barrier or 1/2 inch hardware cloth.....if you arent sure where all this needs done, post some pics of your setup.
If rats can get in, so can sone other predators, that's the bigger concern

 

[Folly's place]

I made the same mistake; insulated walls in the coop, giving a nice home to mice, and then rats. Also, my aged broken concrete floor developed cracks that tunneling rodents could exploit. It's safer now out there, and a lot of bait was eaten before the rodents all disappeared.
If you see ONE rat or mouse, you have MANY!!!
Mary

 

[IamRainey]

I just ordered sand and gravel to lay down around the exterior perimeter of my run. Then I'll top that with 12" square concrete pavers. My hardware cloth is dug in 12" into the ground but they made their way through that somehow. Haven't figured that out yet...

Inside the run I'm going to put sticky traps up in the rafters where they're running. Someone told me the best bait was rice krispy treats so I'm going to go get some of them. I'll also put some heavy duty double-sided tape down to secure the traps so that if a rat gets onto one and struggles the sticky trap won't fall down into the run with the chickens.

I set regular mouse traps with peanut butter last night but there were no takers, unfortunately. Don't suppose it would hurt anything to put them out again tonight around where the feeders were.

Thanks for the advice to remove the feeders at night. I'll do that. But I don't know how to eliminate the crumbles that are all over the ground. Maybe I'll need to bury it each night for a while...

I'm also contemplating a pellet gun. Cause last night we could see the little rat bastards! Just couldn't get to them.

Wish me -- or rather MY CHICKENS -- luck!

 

[Folly's place]

Mice are easier to trap than rats! You will get a few (one?) rat in a trap, but the rest will then avoid it.
I put a bait station inside a closed live trap in my coop, so only rodents could enter it. The chicks also couldn't get inside, and it worked well for me.
I won't use those glue traps, I think they are the worst option!
Mary

 

[cmom]

I had rats nesting in one of my coops. We made the mistake of framing in and putting a inside wall up around the bottom of the coop and the rats got in-between the inside and out side walls by chewing holes in the wood. I saw some rats in the barn too so I put out rat baits where I knew other critters such as birds couldn't get the baits and took out the walls in that coop. No more rats. I did find a few dead ones which I disposed of.

 

[snow5164]

We stuck a few pieces of dog food in the center of the sticky traps, caught so many mice ,

Good luck

 

[IamRainey]

I've put in 2 of the bait stations you describe plus the sticky traps baited with rice krispy treats inside the run and I've got 3 spring-loaded traps baited with peanut butter on the outside perimeter.

Last night I could see them hunkered down in a corner of the rafters so I also got a pellet pistol today but, so far, I haven't seen them inside the run. And I did serious work to make the perimeter more impenetrable so I'm not sure they'll actually be able to get inside again. .

..but then I never saw how they got inside yesterday and I still have no idea how they got out again. I made an inspection and didn't see and evidence of chewing in the wood structure. I saw shallow digging outside at the base of the run but not down to the bottom of the embedded hardware cloth. Nevertheless, the digging troughs are filled with gravel and that's topped with 12" cement pavers 360˚ around the structure.

 

[Folly's place]

That's why those bait stations are safer; the rodents can't remove the bait, they can only eat it in the box. It's necessary to check them often, and be vigilant about finding any affected rodents.
It's necessary to get rid of a rat or mouse infestation, and sometimes bait just is the only way.
Mary