Rats....

[LindsaySinai]

Will rats hurt my pullets or just steal their food?? I have 3 week old chicks in my laundry room and was going to move them to my temporary coop that I use for pullets in the next few weeks....but I just discovered a huge rat next to the coop. The last few times I had pullets in there, there was always a LOT of feathers floating around but never any sign of injury or distress. I thought maybe rats were getting in there at night to steal food and disturbing the chickens but they never got hurt so I wasnt too worried. I'm a lot more attached to these chicks then the last ones so I just want to make sure its safe beyond a doubt before I put them in there.

 

[Baymule]

I HATE RATS!!!!!!!!!!!!!! We had rats in our HOUSE last winter and tried everything. I finally resorted to posion. I had had enough. I bought Just One Bite at the feed store--a LOT of it. I put it out where we had seen the rats and the posion disappeared. Finally, NO RATS!!

 

[ChickPrincess]

I would say you'd need to get rid of them just for the fact of diseases they can carry, let alone fleas, etc. They can also do a lot of damage chewing wires. Nasty little boogers. I would be afraid of poison in case they die in the coop undiscovered and your chickens get to them. Bad situation.

 

[bkreugar]

Yes they will definitly attack and kill your chicks.Last year I free ranged my 5 to 6 week old chicks and saw with my own eyes a rat from under the coop, grab a chick and pull it under the coop. I got the chick back (it was a sultan and those babies were rare and not cheep), but it has broken its neck. So I put poisen DEEP down every hole I saw , then covered the holes with rocks. THAT did the trick. Yes rats WILL hurt your chicks, but not your full grown large fowl.

 

[roosterpaul]

In regards to the poison, did you have to keep your chickens away from it till the rats ate it or will the chickens not eat it?

I've got rats in my coop right now. The cat is doing his job, but not quickly enough, I fear, and I just want to get rid of them without hurting the chickens!

 

[bkreugar]

I put the poisen SEEP down the holes, farther than the chickens would have gone, and then covered every hole id put poisen in a big rock. I did this at dusk when they were in the coop. Will say this year I have a nc black rat snake and have found NO rats since it started hanging out!

 

[LindsaySinai]

In regards to the poison, did you have to keep your chickens away from it till the rats ate it or will the chickens not eat it?

I've got rats in my coop right now. The cat is doing his job, but not quickly enough, I fear, and I just want to get rid of them without hurting the chickens!

I put the poison in one of my unoccupied coops that the rat was hanging out by. Im was thinking of putting my chicks in there today but I had a live trap right by the coop and they somehow got the bait and knocked the trap on the ground. I think the rat was too big so the door closed on the rat instead of closing once it was all the way inside. The city also came out and gave me a bunch of bait boxes so nothing can get in but the rats...dogs, birds, chickens, and most importantly kids are safe. He also told me which poison to use so the rats died sooner and the poison wasnt still active...that way if the dogs find the rats(dead or alive) they wont be full of poison, causing the dogs to ingest poison if they decided to eat or chew on the rats.