The rats are...drowning??

[Supermommy486]

We have sort of like a dish pan out in the coop that we water the chickens in every day. For the past 4 or 5 morning when I go out to take care of the chickens there have been one or two rats floating in the water!

What in the world is going on with the stupid things? I mean hey, it's taking care of the rat problem but good grief! In their water?

Gross...

 

[ND]

Some people make 'drowning buckets' for rodents... apparently it can be fairly effective. They fall in trying to drink the water and can't get back out...


Around here, we have to have an 'escape route' for squirrels in our stock tanks... otherwise, we'll have 'squirrel soup' quite often. Same concept, they fall in trying to get a drink, and if there's nothing to use to climb back out, they drown. In the summers, I use a tank float automatic filler to keep the water level right at the top of the tank. They can get out if they can reach the lip, but the water level has to be nearly right at the lip. In the winters when the float would freeze and the tank level drops up to half way before I refill it, I float a untreated piece of lumber, wedged behind the tank heater cord so they can get out and I'm not fishing out countless squirrels. Blech!

 

[CMV]

Squirrel soup... yuck.

Nice work dealing with the rodent population, Supermommy486. It may be inadvertent but it seems to be working well. I had a rodent explosion around my poultry yards this year, so I have no sympathy for them.

 

[dawg53]

Mmmmmm squirrel with gravy and bisquits!

 

[rancher hicks]

Perhaps they are poisoned and from what I understand they get thirsty. Still I use nipples not so no open waterers. IMO the only good rat/mouse is a dead one. They carry salmonella and are not a good thing to have around your chickens.

 

[Supermommy486]

EWWWWW lol. I definitely didn't think about them not being able to get out. In my head it was like...Can't these things swim??? But it's clear to me now. haha

I definitely don't want the things around. In fact had no idea there were still so many since our cats and dogs have been taking care of them. Guess I need to pick up some traps again!

 

[Supermommy486]

Quote:
Could be. We don't have nay poison anywhere on the property though so not sure where they would be getting it from?

 

[Miss Lydia]

I have to tell this story one year I still had the kiddie pooll full of water for my ducks when it got pretty cold this one night, the next morning I went out and their was a mouse frozen in the pool, looked like he was swimming his head was out of the water. Guess he went to get a drink and fell in.

 

[D'Angelo N Va.]

I don't know why, but for some reason that makes me laugh.. mice pop cycles for chickens.

 

[Supermommy486]

Hahaha oh man...