Strange Tunnels

[Creteloc]

Thank you igorsMistress, that gives me a good place to start. I'll feed them some this morning and some after work and before bed. Hopefully 3 meals a day will satisfy them until I get the rats under control. The nipple waterer usually keeps their coop completely dry, so I don't think the rats get much water out of them. Besides, there's a stream running through our property. They have an infinite amount of drinking water that I can't control.

 

[Wol1]

The "Chicken Chick" has a very comprehensive article on rodent control: http://www.the-chicken-chick.com/2013/06/15-tips-to-control-rodents-around.html
She recommends burying the hardware cloth 12 inches down rather than out to stop burrowing animals. Maybe metal edging would stop them? Garden and yard edging is expensive, but you could get steel roofing cut to 2 ft long (it can be cut for you. Menards has 2 ft minimum), and 3 feet wide. That would cost about $4.50 at Menards. You could pound this in cut edge down around the sides of the coop. The rats would eventually find another way in, so following the Chicken Chick's advice for the long run may help.
(Are you sure they're rats? Info I've found shows burrows underground not on surface. Very long hairless tails?)

The following info is for rats in houses, but has some useful info for ID/control.
http://articles.extension.org/pages/40251/how-can-i-get-rid-of-rat-burrows-around-my-house
First, you need to make sure that it is in fact a rat/rodent burrow you are observing around your home.
Rats create underground pathways or burrows from their nest to food sources and to escape predators. These burrows are often located under bushes or other types of dense vegetation. Rat burrows usually contain a main entrance and 1 or 2 exit holes away from the main entrance. Check along walls and grass for runways. Rats run along the same areas over and over leaving worn down paths in grass and dark greasy track marks along foundation walls. Fecal droppings (3/4 to 1" long) along their runways or in areas where they have been feeding is another sign of a rat infestation.

Once you have determined the extent of your rodent/rat problem, there are several nonchemical control methods you should follow first.
Remove access to any open food sources, such as pet food and large animal feed by putting feed in containers with tight fitting lids.
Keep all vegetation surrounding your property mowed and maintained as low as possible. Fill in any rat burrows in your yard. or sidewalk.

 

[Howard E]

As you start this rat control effort, limited feedings is a great idea, and if you also decide to go the poison route to get control of things, limited feeding of the birds is the critical first step to success with poison. Goal is to put a hunger pang in a rats belly so they are more inclined to go for the bait. No need to on their part if the dinner buffet they have been using remains wide open. Or if you just do this long term, you may starve them out and they move on.

So 1/4 to 1/3 rd pound per bird per day translates into roughly 3/4 cup of dry feed per bird per day by volume. If you are a bit shy of that, say 1/3rd cup and 1/3rd cup (2/3rd cup), fed twice daily, they won't starve, but they will be eager to gobble up whatever you give them on the spot and in a hurry. Meaning they eat it all with no waste. Even more so if you sweeten the pot by wetting the feed with a little warm milk. One feeding in the morning, the second about 1/2 hour or so before they go to roost. Do that, and you will assure yourself of almost zero waste. Only two feedings means the birds will be starving when the dinner bell is rung vs. being allowed to nibble at it all day long.

The remaining feed being stored in metal container like a metal trash can with a lid. Rats can't chew their way into that.

 

[Creteloc]

Oh, the milk idea is great! I have little piglet chickens who make a huge mess while feeding. The milk will make them less inclined to spill it everywhere. I am seeing a LOT less rat action this morning in the daylight than yesterday. Around noon I had four rats in the tunnels eating happily on spilled food. Today I have one that comes intermittently and checks the tunnels and then leaves.

 

[BennieAnTheJets]

I would definitely be worried about bigger predators following the rats - that is exactly what happened with our mouse problem: I faced off with a venomous snake in a corner (not intentionally) last summer and removed a bunch of non-venomous snakes, then we had the signs of a weasel last week

Quick action goes a long way - I would remove food and deny access right away, as much as you can

I am still recovering from the enormous effort of last week - did everything as quickly as possible, too

I am no rat expert, but I know people pretty well - in my experience, we often overreact and make mistakes that can be fixed with some thought and swift action - I would still be hesitant to torture the wildlife for my mistakes, rather fix the mistakes and let nature take its course again - no animal is going to hang around if there is no food or shelter

maybe your neighbors really let things get out of hand in their shed - nice of you to offer to help - that may go a long way in solving the problem - if they have food in the shed and do not go there a lot, the animals probably love that and take advantage of the opportunity for them - God knows that's what humans do, given half a chance to use their environment to their benefit

definitely would be concerned about the rats moving into my house/garage/garbage/compost next and would try to think ahead and block the spread - we are after all supposed to be the smarter ones

"humankind - be both!" - bumper sticker quote, not sure about the author

 

[Lisa G.]

I found tunnels, too. First thing I did was eliminate food spillage. Bought a Grandpa's treadle feeder. Then I made sure that my chickens were secured at night in the coop with door absolutely sealed (they have coop/run combo setup). And then I put out poison. This wasn't my first choice, but I had to get rid of them fast. No sign of rats now.

 

[kwhites634]

Thank you for the advice. I'm still reading that link above. We went on a hunt last night in the dark and found that the rats are tunneling into our yard from our neighbors yard. They have a massive shed and we could hear them scurrying around inside. It honestly sounded like hundreds of them inside! They live in the neighbor's shed and then come over to our coops for food. There must be some food source in that shed also. I'm just waiting for them to get into our house!

My bigger concern is that rats will draw in bigger predators. It's not unusual to see coyotes and mountain lions come into town because we live on a mountain. If they find rats, it'll draw them into the chickens, which will lead them to dogs/cats and even children. It's the circle of life but I don't want to see it in my yard.

Have you considered a Rat Terrier or Jack Russell?

 

[Creteloc]

Just to see what I'm fighting. I see that the rats somehow removed the hardware cloth on the left-hand part of the screen. I'll fix that when I get home. Little buggers. That hopefully will keep them out of the run and therefore out of the coop for now. I am still working on a new coop/run.

 

[Creteloc]

Have you considered a Rat Terrier or Jack Russell?

My youngest is allergic to all animals, and it's too cold here to have outside pets (except chickens). We're stuck with standard poodles. Every other dog she's allergic to. Our poodle doesn't give the rats a second glance.

 

[kwhites634]

They are out of town, but I fully plan on talking to them when they get back. They are an older couple and I'm going to offer to help them get rid of the rats.

I have another question. I have an EE and a RiR, full sized. How do I know how much to feed them daily? I've always let them eat what they want out of a bucket. Also, how often do I feed them? I took their food bucket away last night and I have a fear of them going hungry. They drink out of nipple waterers. Do I still need to take that away?

They're not going to eat at night; too busy sleeping.