What animal is tunneling under our coop? Photos

[cmom]

I would guess rats. Hopefully you can get a camera up and solve the mystery. I love my cameras. Good luck...

 

[cmom]

I had a coop that was infested with rats and there were tunnels around the coops. I did put rat bait stations in our barn which is behind or coops because I had seen rats in there too. I put the bait stations where only the rats could get to them. My bait stations have a little window above the bait so I can check them daily. I haven't seen any activity in quite awhile and the baits haven't been touched. I didn't find any dead rats laying around so I think they went into their tunnels and died. Again, good luck...

 

[77horses]

I got some photos of foot prints this morning. Not the best, but you can barely see them in the dirt. Looks like 5 toes on some of the clearer tracks. For size reference, each print was no bigger than the tip of my pinky.

 

[cmom]

Rat tracks.

 

[shineandrise]

Ok, I think that chipmunks have 5 toes on their kind feet and 4 on the front. You may want to backcheck this though. Those are tiny, guessing chipmunk. Hoping you find out what it was!

 

[77horses]

Ok, I think that chipmunks have 5 toes on their kind feet and 4 on the front. You may want to backcheck this though. Those are tiny, guessing chipmunk. Hoping you find out what it was!

I’ll try and measure them at some point if I can. I read somewhere that rats also have 5 toes on the back and 4 on the front.

 

[Egghead_Jr]

Chipmunks or rats.

 

[77horses]

Rat tracks.
View attachment 2372822

Looks very similar in shape and size.

 

[77horses]

Whatever these little suckers are got really busy last night. They’re no longer going through the original tunnel (where I put rags soaked with tea tree oil) but looks like they found a new way in. Lots of new tracks this morning.
Photo 1: metal coop door leading into the run with a big tunnel coming out from under the cement slab (there’s no exit tunnel for this tunnel that I can find, so I’m thinking maybe they’re living under the coop during the day at this point?)
Photo 2: tracks
Photo 3: more tracks, with my pinky for comparison (I have average sized hands)
Photo 4 & 5: tunnel under the cement slab again

 

[Al Gerhart]

Rats and mice have front teeth that grow continuously. They like to chew, they have to chew, or the teeth will curl up and pierce their skull. A cinder block or even poured concrete can easily be chewed through by a rat.

Rats only come for the free buffet that many coops serve 24/7. Get your bulk feed in metal barrels, get a treadle feeder, and clean up any debris that give them cover coming to and from the food source. They will feed during the day so no use in taking the feed in at night. Poisons and traps will catch a few till they learn. So you cannot poison or trap your way out of a rat infestation.

You can control the feed and the rats and mice will leave, guaranteed.