saw a rat!!!!! what do you think????

[maddyaugust]

hi,

sorry in advance for length of post - but would really like opinions:

I'm a new chicken mom. I have had my 6 chickens - currently 17 week old for a month. We have a raised coop and enclosed run. Also we live in the suburbs, north of Boston, small backyard in residential neighborhood. We have a lovely vegetable and flower garden with compost pile, never ever saw anything more than a skunk or a bunny once in a blue moon in 25 years.

I thought I was taking decent preventive rodent measures, I remove food and water from coop at night, put the food in a galvanized trash can in the garage, there is another water in the run that I also remove. Usually mid day I bring a couple of bowls of seed treats mixed with yogurt and put then in the run, I like to sit with the girls for a few minutes and watch them eat the treats, then I leave bowls in run for the afternoon. Early evening I remove the bowls.

Yesterday, our first real summer day here in New England, I put some watermelon rinds on the ground along with the bowls of treats My husband and I were watching the chickens in the run and we saw a rat dart out and eat from treat bowl! We did some research and came up with this plan - we put 2 baited snap traps (bacon and peanut butter) under weighted boxes that have entry holes large enough for rodents but nothing a chicken could enter. We checked the boxes this morning and they were empty, no rats, bait still in place. We thought we should keep the traps in place for a few more days & keep checking.

What do people think about this plan?? Our hardware cloth is buried about foot deep in most places but not all. In order to clean under the coop, I have some removable wire covered panels so there are place for predators to dig under. Is the foot deep hardware cloth non-negotiable?? I really feel like it's necessary to be able to turn over earth under coop to keep poop issues in control.

thank you so much for all answers

 

[HeritageGoose13]

I had rodent problems. I think the problem was actually chipmunks or mice, but it was some type of rodent. It kept getting into the bags of food. I put the food bags in a plastic bin and the rodents ate through the bin.

I bought a metal garbage can and keep the food in there now with the lid closed at all times. That seemed to stop most of the problems. Trapping will never end it for good, you have to make sure they aren't being fed.

You could also sprinkle cayenne powder/flakes in and around the coop. Chickens can't taste spicy and if they eat some, its actually good for them and gets rid of worms. But rodents can't stand it, it stings their eyes I think.

Something I would do is, have a dog walk in and around the coop, let it mark the coop. That won't keep rats out for a long time but it will make them hesitate, briefly. The amount of pests and predators I encountered soared after my dog died. Dogs are a very strong deterant to most animals, especially big dogs. (Alternatively if you have a cat, brush it and sprinkle the fur around- I don't know if this works but I have heard some animals don't like it.)

That is what worked for me, I have not had any rodent issues since doing this.

I don't know about the hardware cloth- hopefully someone who has or has had a similar set-up will comment.

 

[enola]

If you have seen a rat, rest assured there are more. Do not give up on the traps.

 

[maddyaugust]

yes - that is my thought

I'm going to try the cayenne pepper around run, and I'm going to try the buried bait (described in another thread) trap next to coop

thank you everybody for answers

 

[Egghead_Jr]

Bait boxes I find to be a godsend. Tamper proof so pets, chickens and children can't get into them. Use chunx bait so pellets aren't left all around the yard for animals to eat. Chipmunk, squirrel, rat or mouse will chew off as much as it can fit in mouth so none is dropped where you don't want it. Pests bring bait back to nests to feed young and usually all die in the nests. Once in a while there will be a dead rodent on the lawn but that's easily spotted on route to coop in morning and removed before letting the birds out.

Something like this:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Protecta-LP...801?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item3f25e7cc79

The bait comes in bulk one gallon bucket. I like the dark green Tomcat brand. With two stations one can go in corner of run and other in shed or on basement wall coop side of your house to stop things before getting in.

 

[maddyaugust]

thank you - sounds like good advice

 

[Egghead_Jr]

It's one of those things I'd wish I knew when first starting with chickens. By the time you start seeing them your overrun. Then if they get in the house...ugh. I think there should be a short chapter in Chicken Keeping for Dummies and every first timer chicken keeping book about using bait boxes as soon as you get chickens. With using them from the very start you never see rodents and would wonder if they were worth the investment. I can assure anyone that they are invaluable. I moved almost a year ago and put out the boxes as soon as the chicks were outside in grow out pen.

 

[maddyaugust]

Thanks for all advice, built a poison station out of pvc pipe & planted mint around run - feeling optimistic