Rodent

[Al Gerhart]

You are using elimination to control rodents, the first steps are sanitation and exclusion. Elimination alone will not stop a rat infestation.

Sanitation is a treadle feeder, bulk feed in metal barrels, cleaning up pathways that rodents can use to travel without their natural predators seeing them and catching them. Do this first and you will eliminate the rodent problem for good.

Next step is exclusion, making the coop rat proof, expensive and difficult to accomplish. But like the sanitation it is a once time cost.

Poison and trapping never end and the colony wises up to the bait and traps, the rodents are still there drawing in other predators that also like to eat chickens, eggs, and chicks.

Do a search for Howard E.'s posts on rodents.

 

[MandaRae]

The male and female Rats are both dispatched and the area has been moved and cleaned. It was my mobile coop in the garden.
We have changed up everything since this and no more rat sightings on the camera.

I have learned to not put solid top pallets anywhere near my chicken coop. It only gives them a great place to hide.

 

[MandaRae]

You are using elimination to control rodents, the first steps are sanitation and exclusion. Elimination alone will not stop a rat infestation.

Sanitation is a treadle feeder, bulk feed in metal barrels, cleaning up pathways that rodents can use to travel without their natural predators seeing them and catching them. Do this first and you will eliminate the rodent problem for good.

Next step is exclusion, making the coop rat proof, expensive and difficult to accomplish. But like the sanitation it is a once time cost.

Poison and trapping never end and the colony wises up to the bait and traps, the rodents are still there drawing in other predators that also like to eat chickens, eggs, and chicks.

Do a search for Howard E.'s posts on rodents.

I will definitely take a peek at that post.
I really don't want to use poison near near here. I was super super lucky to catch these 2 before it became 10+ the female looked like she might have been pregnant. The Male was insanely huge. No joke it was bigger than my size 10 boot!!!