RATS!

[CaptSaam]

I have been keeping chickens for 12 years now and I am amazed at how many rats have made themselves at home around my chicken coop and run. I have tried poison in the surrounding area, spring loaded rat traps, have-a-heart traps, electrocution traps and the ones that go on top of a bucket that flips and drops them in. I have used the feeders that open when the chicken steps on the peddle hoping they would leave if I took away their food source. I have even tried the rat repellent packets with mint scent. Nothing seems to work!
Please let me know if any one has any success getting rid of these varmints.

 

[The Moonshiner]

@Al Gerhart knows rats

 

[CherishedFowlGuardian]

Cats & Guinea Fowl!

 

[Penpal]

I can't speak to the mint packages, but spraying mint around the enclosure helps to keep them out. You should be able to smell the mint when you spray it. You might also want to consider an electric wire close to the ground. The grass would need to be mowed quite low. They may try to dig under the wire, so an additional fence a few inches down in the soil to deter digging.

How about a rat terrier?

 

[Al Gerhart]

I have been keeping chickens for 12 years now and I am amazed at how many rats have made themselves at home around my chicken coop and run. I have tried poison in the surrounding area, spring loaded rat traps, have-a-heart traps, electrocution traps and the ones that go on top of a bucket that flips and drops them in. I have used the feeders that open when the chicken steps on the peddle hoping they would leave if I took away their food source. I have even tried the rat repellent packets with mint scent. Nothing seems to work!
Please let me know if any one has any success getting rid of these varmints.

You already spent the money on a treadle feeder and it should have solved the problem. How about posting a picture of the feeder? Either the feeder isn't doing the job or perhaps it isn't set up correctly because it should have done what you paid it to do.

Poison only works for a few rodents before they wise up or if you have a good treadle feeder that stops the feed theft and the rats start to starve. Even if you did clean out the current batch the empty territory would be filled again with rodents. Ditto on the traps, the rats are wise and cautious. The mint, just an old wives tale along with potato flakes, plaster of paris, hot pepper, there is a long list of useless advice that people love to suggest.


So, pictures please.

 

[CaptSaam]

SUCCESS!
At first I though the treadle feeder was a waist of time and money but patience pays. At first the girls did not understand it but I propped it open for a few hours for a few days. Some seemed to figure it out but finally it was working but I was worried that some chickens would feed from the side when another opened it. I did not want to have the cover close on the chickens head so I put it in a wooden crate on its side that was just the right size and I pulled the front side off. No more rats!

Thanks to all who chimed in on this!

 

[Al Gerhart]

SUCCESS!
At first I though the treadle feeder was a waist of time and money but patience pays. At first the girls did not understand it but I propped it open for a few hours for a few days. Some seemed to figure it out but finally it was working but I was worried that some chickens would feed from the side when another opened it. I did not want to have the cover close on the chickens head so I put it in a wooden crate on its side that was just the right size and I pulled the front side off. No more rats!

Thanks to all who chimed in on this!

Good to hear the problem was solved. But... treadle feeders do take some training for most flocks but leaving one open is a huge mistake. Why? Because you are teaching the hens that the treadle is not supposed to move. The only manufacturers that recommend leaving treadle feeders open are the ones with bad design and their motive is to get you to leave the feeder open for two weeks, then partially open for another week, just to get you close to or past the Amazon 30 day return window.

Side access is solved by placing a couple of cement blocks or milk jugs filled with sand or dirt. Place them at the side of the treadle to force the chickens to come in from the front.

The wood crate was a great idea but you shouldn't have to do that.

How about posting some pictures, left side, right side, and from the front, far enough away that we can see how the feeders are installed? From the sounds of the time frame used for training, it is possible that something isn't quite right about the install.

 

[ReluctantChickenOwner]

You already spent the money on a treadle feeder and it should have solved the problem. How about posting a picture of the feeder? Either the feeder isn't doing the job or perhaps it isn't set up correctly because it should have done what you paid it to do.

Poison only works for a few rodents before they wise up or if you have a good treadle feeder that stops the feed theft and the rats start to starve. Even if you did clean out the current batch the empty territory would be filled again with rodents. Ditto on the traps, the rats are wise and cautious. The mint, just an old wives tale along with potato flakes, plaster of paris, hot pepper, there is a long list of useless advice that people love to suggest.


So, pictures please.

Ok. We too have a Grandpa's treadle feeder.....and rats. Our issue is, our chickens step on the paddle and proceed to flick feed (pellets) all over. Suggestions on what to do?

 

[Al Gerhart]

I'll try to help. The problem with the grandpa feeder is the feed tray has no real sides, front lip, or even a feed lip. They put that wire grate in there and that is about all they can do. Back in the day, it was all there was. I suppose the tooling costs are too much for them to change their design.

I'd start off first by tracking your feed consumption, should be no more than 1/4 pound per hen per day. More than that, it is either the feed raking or the rats are getting into the grandpa feeder which is not uncommon according to the reviews and plenty of customers. Figure out what is causing the most feed loss.

What you might do to the grandpa feeder is to start by choking off around one third of the throat of the feeder. Empty the feeder, insert a strip of cardboard from inside the feeder to cut down on the flow of feed. You want to lower the level of the feed in the feed tray to make it harder for the hens to rake out feed. Next, you need to add a small angle iron around the top of the feed tray, sides and front, if the angle iron is at least 1/2" wide that will help a lot on feed raking unless the feed level is so high that it is close to the angle iron. Aluminum might work but the problem with mixing metals is that you can set up a primitive battery that causes corrosion. Lots of ammonia in a coop, salt in the feed, some humidity, you got a battery. So use iron/steel if possible. Home depot will have short lengths of angle iron. Heck, even a strip of wood, 1/2" x 1/2" screwed through the sides and front

I suspect though that big old wide grandpa feeder treadle plate is being overwhelmed by rats. It takes a lot of feed for a rat colony to survive. The grandpa feeders that I have seen in person are balanced so that a big rat can push the lid open. Mice, they usually get in a gap. If you have a game camera or something similar it would be telling to watch the feeder for a couple of days and nights.

If they are pushing the grandpa feeder lid up you can add weight to the lid but they make the lid super lightweight and balance it carefully for safety reasons.

Not much else you can do though. If the feeder is under two years old they advertise a two year guarantee. You paid a premium price for the feeder, double the cost of a better one, don't feel bad about expecting the product to work.

 

[ABQ chicken keeper]

I'll try to help. The problem with the grandpa feeder is the feed tray has no real sides, front lip, or even a feed lip. They put that wire grate in there and that is about all they can do. Back in the day, it was all there was. I suppose the tooling costs are too much for them to change their design.

I'd start off first by tracking your feed consumption, should be no more than 1/4 pound per hen per day. More than that, it is either the feed raking or the rats are getting into the grandpa feeder which is not uncommon according to the reviews and plenty of customers. Figure out what is causing the most feed loss.

What you might do to the grandpa feeder is to start by choking off around one third of the throat of the feeder. Empty the feeder, insert a strip of cardboard from inside the feeder to cut down on the flow of feed. You want to lower the level of the feed in the feed tray to make it harder for the hens to rake out feed. Next, you need to add a small angle iron around the top of the feed tray, sides and front, if the angle iron is at least 1/2" wide that will help a lot on feed raking unless the feed level is so high that it is close to the angle iron. Aluminum might work but the problem with mixing metals is that you can set up a primitive battery that causes corrosion. Lots of ammonia in a coop, salt in the feed, some humidity, you got a battery. So use iron/steel if possible. Home depot will have short lengths of angle iron. Heck, even a strip of wood, 1/2" x 1/2" screwed through the sides and front

I suspect though that big old wide grandpa feeder treadle plate is being overwhelmed by rats. It takes a lot of feed for a rat colony to survive. The grandpa feeders that I have seen in person are balanced so that a big rat can push the lid open. Mice, they usually get in a gap. If you have a game camera or something similar it would be telling to watch the feeder for a couple of days and nights.

If they are pushing the grandpa feeder lid up you can add weight to the lid but they make the lid super lightweight and balance it carefully for safety reasons.

Not much else you can do though. If the feeder is under two years old they advertise a two year guarantee. You paid a premium price for the feeder, double the cost of a better one, don't feel bad about expecting the product to work.

Capt,
Is your feeder outside or do you have coop security issue as well?