Rats

[Lady of McCamley]

With all due respect to rats life, they attack small birds. We lost 8 quails to them. I have no doubt they will get to baby chicks we have now, if they could, but we close them inside for the night and all my coops are now inaccessible to any rodent. Yet, I am still worried that a hungry rat may attack a chiclet.

That said - I have a large run and neighbor behind the fence has several acres of wild meadow. We had rats coming in from his property before, he did something, it was OK for some time, now they are back. Barrows are popping in all 3 runs we have.

I am setting traps for the night but so far, had no luck. Plugged barrows reopen at the morning. I tossed TomCat poison chunks behind the fence, neighbor has no animals, so maybe that will work eventually.

But, we are generally in farmland, so what do you have a chicken safe method of ridding of rats successfully? As they WILL keep coming, no doubt.

Oh yes they do return....we joke in our neighborhood that all you have to do is worry them enough so they go to the neighbor's....but alas in time...THEY'RE Baaaack.

Here are the best chicken friendly line of defenses:
1. Pick up all feed at night. Store in metal containers. ETA: or use some sort of rat proof feeder, but I can't personally attest see posts above. I have put orange 5 gallon buckets over metal feeders sitting on the ground, and that has kept them out of the feed...until they start chewing holes in the bucket...which you replace.

2. Remove any overgrowth or wood piles that allow them to hide...generally they don't like open pathway, so have plain ground surrounding your coops. ETA: that's harder when the neighbor's have overgrowth and you live by open field/wetlands.

3. Have raised coops with solid structure, especially for chicks.

As chickens still scatter feed, which honestly gets to be impossible to gather every crumb, you'll still get some rats....especially as they start to come out in the daytime to eat chicken feed. (Oh yup, they do). For those you set traps or use poison. As rats get trap savvy pretty quickly, at some point you go to poison.

The Tom Cat bromethelain type poison is repeat eating that thins the blood. It is less dangerous than the first bite neural toxins (which usually have to be gotten through a pest control). It also has very little secondary poisoning if an animal (say your dog) eats a rat that has died from that poison. (Unlike other first bite poisons).

ETA: I've also tried a home-made remedy of plaster paris mixed with bird seed. Make a mash like mashed potatoes and form little soft balls. Leave out for the rats to eat. It clogs their systems as it dries. (Horrible death I'm sure, but sometimes it's a war out there.) That has reduced numbers, and if you mix a lot of bird seed, they seem to eat it. Place where birds can't get to it, but it would take a lot of those balls to clog up a bird or dog.

Beyond that you can get creative....my son and husband plunk rats with a pellet rifle (no one write me nasty responses...we are drowning in rats at times here).

I also got a sweet Rat Terrier from a rescue...he's started a wall with his notches.

And we've had owls and kestrels hunt...however those can also be hard on your birds.

Good luck with your battle. You win a few skirmishes, but with a lot of field and forage around you, especially if the neighbors aren't as careful, chances are you can only thin the population for awhile.

LofMc

 

[ukrkoz]

Thank you.
Yep, much of what you say I already did. Both coops are solid wood structures.
Quail coops are solid and their runs are all metal mesh covered. All through. As rats once grazed through plastic and got inside and....
That's why I am afraid they will get to the baby chicks in their run. That one sits on the ground and there is a barrow inside. Baby chicks are safe for the night but.. I seen rats roaming around in daylight and roosters appear to be ignoring them.
Combined about 14 acre between me and neighbor, that's tough.
DW won't let have a rat terrier. Or any dog. Can't help. Or cat. She has that thing about them in her mind...
I have large plastic TC poison dispensers set.
Nothing I can do about neighbor.
But I'll get a few guineas. Associate told me they'll attack any predator they see. On 6 acre, we don't care they are loud.

 

[Lady of McCamley]

Thank you.
Yep, much of what you say I already did. Both coops are solid wood structures.
Quail coops are solid and their runs are all metal mesh covered. All through. As rats once grazed through plastic and got inside and....
That's why I am afraid they will get to the baby chicks in their run. That one sits on the ground and there is a barrow inside. Baby chicks are safe for the night but.. I seen rats roaming around in daylight and roosters appear to be ignoring them.
Combined about 14 acre between me and neighbor, that's tough.
DW won't let have a rat terrier. Or any dog. Can't help. Or cat. She has that thing about them in her mind...
I have large plastic TC poison dispensers set.
Nothing I can do about neighbor.
But I'll get a few guineas. Associate told me they'll attack any predator they see. On 6 acre, we don't care they are loud.

Good choice...hadn't heard that about guineas.

I once got Buckeye chickens because I had heard they had a natural predator instinct for mice...figured they'd get the smaller rats. Nope. They all just watched as the rats ran around.

It is a constant battle when you live in an area that is a haven for them.
LofMc

 

[ukrkoz]

Guy lived on a farm with over 200 birds. He witnessed guinea rooster take off and attack hawk up in the air, as it was approaching the flock. I figure I'll get couple of roosters and hens and just let them be their way. Many sources online say that they do keep small predators away.
Good news - DW actually wanted to get them. So that should fly easier than say a rat terrier

 

[Folly's place]

Hardware cloth or some barrier around the coop, and the runs if possible. I've never done well with traps, only poison. Try putting the bait down in the holes in the run, and then covering them. Repeat until the bait isn't being eaten any more. Or get a rotten little rat terrier, and have him patrol the runs, somehow without eating the birds too! Mary

 

[Folly's place]

Also, no food in the runs, only in the coop, which needs to be rat proof and locked up every night. Mary

 

[Lady of McCamley]

Hardware cloth or some barrier around the coop, and the runs if possible. I've never done well with traps, only poison. Try putting the bait down in the holes in the run, and then covering them. Repeat until the bait isn't being eaten any more. Or get a rotten little rat terrier, and have him patrol the runs, somehow without eating the birds too! Mary

Yup. I did! And he is doing a good job...it took me about 2 months to train him to leave the birds alone, but he now chases rats through the birds (including grow out pullets) without touching a feather.

I don't leave him out unattended, yet, and don't leave him with baby chicks, but they can learn the difference!

Good little doggie.
(This month...hubby is at 22 and doggie is at 8 kills...but hubby found a nest.)

LofMc

 

[ukrkoz]

No way to stop birds from tossing grain all over the runs.
BTW, we are full fenced and mostly netted from the top. Rats barrow under.
We hide feeders for the night. But what's tossed is tossed. I'm only worried about babies.

I'll get rat terrier when I retire. Then I can take care of the dog. I don't really have time now, out at 7 back at 7 and DW won't do it. And I'm responsible.

 

[favman]

No way to stop birds from tossing grain all over the runs.
BTW, we are full fenced and mostly netted from the top. Rats barrow under.
We hide feeders for the night. But what's tossed is tossed. I'm only worried about babies.

I'll get rat terrier when I retire. Then I can take care of the dog. I don't really have time now, out at 7 back at 7 and DW won't do it. And I'm responsible.

gday. for rats fill jar 2/3 full raw sugar 1/3 cement shake well put in jar lid away from chooks no poison in dead rats just a lump of cement.when jar lids don,t need top up you have won . best of luck and love your your chooks favman.

 

[MrDeMaistre]

Every few years we get rats in the henhouse. They will indeed kill chickens: pretty horribly. Rats are the only creature we are comfortable killing. Our free range chickens take their chances with the foxes et al, as part of the price of their freeedom, so to say, but with rats, their henhouse becomes unsafe, which just doesn't seem fair.

Anyway, right or wrong, we poison the rats, put the little poison cubes in an unused room adjoining the hen room. We are vigilant in keeping an eye out for rats who die in the open, since there is enough warfarin in the carcass to harm or kill chickens (dogs/cats/others) who might fancy a little rat meat.

Chickenkeeping has its dark side: when you take on chickens, you take on responsibility for their well-being, and sometimes discharging that responsibility can be pretty darned unpleasant. But that's how it is.