Totally devastated

[Micket]

Yesterday i went to feed my quail to find 7 lying dead in thr coop
On inspection i found 1 survivor hiding inside s box on top of a nest box
The reason for my loss RATS in the corner of the coop i found a hole what wasn't there before ,the rats had chewed through the wood to get to them
I moved the survivor into a different pen

 

[Kelsey palmer]

Yesterday i went to feed my quail to find 7 lying dead in thr coop
On inspection i found 1 survivor hiding inside s box on top of a nest box
The reason for my loss RATS in the corner of the coop i found a hole what wasn't there before ,the rats had chewed through the wood to get to them
I moved the survivor into a different pen

I'm so sorry to hear I personally have a 12 gauge I would put to work I hope you are able to eradicate the menaces and rebuild your flock

 

[Micket]

Ive laid down poison and set traps to catch them
As in life its a learning curve , i thought the coop was surcured from attack.
Plan to use a raised coop at least 3ft off the ground the next time
Luckly i had collected seven eggs laid over the past week so put into incubator fingers crossed for future hatchings

 

[swampfox440]

I saw a video on YouTube about using corn bread muffin mix and baking soda to get rid of rats. I haven't tried it, but it seems like the guy in the video says it's safe and does the job.

 

[Chicona]

Ive laid down poison and set traps to catch them
As in life its a learning curve , i thought the coop was surcured from attack.
Plan to use a raised coop at least 3ft off the ground the next time
Luckly i had collected seven eggs laid over the past week so put into incubator fingers crossed for future hatchings

Poison can be a bad thing as if them or their babies wander into the yard poisoned my chicks eat the babies
then if it dies behind somthing u cant se they sit there and rot
trust me you won’t wanna use poison again when a fermenting rats juices work through the plasterboard ceiling and splat it on the floor ..yea it died in the roof and it stank when I opened it

use hidden traps instead
so sorry for your loss

 

[Micket]

I saw a video on YouTube about using corn bread muffin mix and baking soda to get rid of rats. I haven't tried it, but it seems like the guy in the video says it's safe and does the job.

Ive used plaster of paris mixed with chocolate powder eith success in the past as once ingested it goes rock hard
So killing them

 

[Callender Girl]

How devastating! Best wishes for your little survivor.

Good luck with getting rid of the rats. I had problems a few years ago, and it took weeks and many strategies to deal with them.

 

[Memoli]

Sorry for your losses. Try to use traps to get rid of those rats and avoid poison. Hide your traps on their paths carefully and use gloves etc. doing this. They are extremely cautious around traps. It took me more than a week to catch a giant rat with a trap a few weeks ago.

 

[pinewoodacres]

If you feel the need to kill them, please don’t do it with a slow method like poison or plaster or anything else like that. I agree with the poster who said to shoot them if necessary. It’s drastically more humane. But a dog could also drive them off, maybe a cat. Or just removing the thing they want (the quail, which you are going to build more housing for anyway).