RODENT PROBLEM

iblamejuju

Hatching
Oct 24, 2015
2
0
7
Eugene, OR
As soon as fall hit we got a rodent problem.
They recently got into the food and there were traces of feces in the feeder. Not sure how they managed to get into a hanging feeder but they did it.
My concern is:

#1 how to safely get rid of them? They are not only eating the feed and costing me money but they are also contaminating the rest of it.

#2
If the chickens happen to eat any rat poop are the eggs not safe for humans to eat anymore? I am worried about disease not only for my birds but also I'm concerned for my family.

Apparently my town is having a huge mouse and rat problem. Even the people without chickens/pets are having a huge issue.

Any advice on this subject would be greatly appreciated.

Jules
 
In my experience the best way to get rid of the rats/mice is to make sure that there is no holes in the coop. Also, I have found that mice can fit though chicken wire, so it is best to use hardware cloth.

Personally, I would avoid eating the eggs since a lot of the nutrients from the feed contribute to egg production and therefore the eggs could be a carrier for disease
 
I use rat poison in a locking bait box
I place them around were the rats travel
Make sure to rotate your baits with different kinds so they wont get bait shy
 
Posted to another query.
Hope it helps.:

My understanding is that rats/mice 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 commercial 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 or mice...

Hope this helps.


 
I use rat poison in a locking bait box
I place them around were the rats travel
Make sure to rotate your baits with different kinds so they wont get bait shy

I too use locked bait boxes with chunx bait. I put one right in the run. Never had a problem, rodents have to chew off the bait so it stays in mouth, go back to hole and die underground.

In three years never had a poisoned animal other than targeted rodents which range from mice to red squirrels. In that time I only found one rodent dead on the lawn instead of in their burrow. Picked it up and tossed away before letting chickens out. I still do a quick scan for a dead rodent every morning but yet to see another.

I got the tamper proof boxes and poison because I had a severe problem. Now I hardly go through any poison as it takes care of any rodent starting to move into the area before they set up colonies. So with two boxes I keep one right in the run and other on side of house to stop anything from moving in to winter there too.
 

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