Rats / Mice

[egay]

Ok we have rats or mice and they are multiplying fast. We noticed our chicken feed being gobbled up faster than normal. My husband and I noticed small marks on the coop around entry points. We finally started to see them and they aren't too afraid of us. We just put out standard rat traps but after a few hours I went out to check and just saw more rats! Any advice and what kind of traps do you use?

 

[mightymax]

First off, are they rats, or mice because it'll make a difference on what size trap you'll use?

 

[RonP]

Posted to another query:

My understanding is that rats 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 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...

Hope this helps.

 

[Chris09]

This might help,

This is the trap RonP was talking about.

 

[mightymax]

I LIKE THAT !!!

Fortunately for me, it doesn't look that hard to make. Just one question though. And you'll probably get a chuckle or two out of it, but do the critters die right there in the tube, or do they carry the bait back to their known associates and share it with them so that they all die. Kind of like a Jim Jones thing. I think that the tube is just to keep the bait away from your chickens, but not knowing for sure, I just had to ask. Thanks so much for your help and innovation.

 

[annemarie g]

I have the same question. Chicks can fit in 4" PVC. How do you keep them out? And what bait works best?

 

[RonP]

This might help,

This is the trap RonP was talking about.

This is exactly what I made.

Thanks for posting.

You wouldn't want to keep the station where accessible to chicks, or any other small animal not intended to eat the bait.

The critters don't just die on the spot, nor do I believe they share.

I use rat bait sold in any garden or hardware store. The station is weatherproof.

They just disappear...